Jump to content

Nurse Lucy Letby guilty of murdering seven babies on neonatal unit

Published

 Share
TAGGED

Nurse Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murdering seven babies on a neonatal unit, making her the UK's most prolific child serial killer in modern times.

The 33-year-old has also been convicted of trying to kill six other infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

Letby deliberately injected babies with air, force fed others milk and poisoned two of the infants with insulin.

Commenting on the verdict, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Rob Behrens said:

“We know that, in general, people work in the health service because they want to help and that when things go wrong it is not intentional. At the same time, and too often we see the commitment to public safety in the NHS undone by a defensive leadership culture across the NHS.

“The Lucy Letby story is different and almost without parallel, because it reveals an intent to harm by one individual. As such, it is one of the darkest crimes ever committed in our health service. Our first thoughts are with the families of the children who died. 

“However, we also heard throughout the trial, evidence from clinicians that they repeatedly raised concerns and called for action. It seems that nobody listened and nothing happened. More babies were harmed and more babies were killed. Those who lost their children deserve to know whether Letby could have been stopped and how it was that doctors were not listened to and their concerns not addressed for so long. Patients and staff alike deserve an NHS that values accountability, transparency, and a willingness to learn.  

“Good leadership always listens, especially when it’s about patient safety. Poor leadership makes it difficult for people to raise concerns when things go wrong, even though complaints are vital for patient safety and to stop mistakes being repeated. We need to see significant improvements to culture and leadership across the NHS so that the voices of staff and patients can be heard, both with regard to everyday pressures and mistakes and, very exceptionally, when there are warnings of real evil.”

1
 Share

1 Comment

Recommended Comments

Steve Turner
Steve Turner 34
Posted

This tragic case highlights the urgent need for independent external scrutiny of #whistleblowing and a change in the law to protect the public interest.
The Protection for Whistleblowing Bill introduces an #Officeofthewhistleblower to help prevent events like this, where people blew the whistle & were silenced. The Pediatricians raised the alarm and were bullied and threatened with referral to the GMC.
Current whistleblowing legislation - the Public Interest Disclosure Act [#PIDA] - fails everyone, #patients, relatives, clinicians, #healthcare staff, & the public.
The Protection for Whistleblowing Bill [Hl] which passed its second reading in December 2022, proposes the repeal of the current Public Interest Disclosure Act [PIDA], replacing it with an Office of the Whistleblower [OWB]. This would prevent concerns of genuine healthcare whistleblowers becoming buried under an employment issue, and their original patient safety concerns being side-lined.
PIDA is expensive, limited in scope and beyond the reach of most whistleblowers.
PIDA is also overly complex, with cases currently waiting for over 2 years to be heard. Employers game the system to run whistleblowers out of funds. Fewer than 12% of cases that go to the Employment Tribunal win.
PIDA does not protect patients and is not accessible to members of the public who blow the whistle. Currently there is no statutory provision to investigate or address the wrongdoing highlighted by whistleblowers. Many whistleblowers have been denied any protection because they are not workers.

This Protection for Whistleblowing Bill Delivers:

·         Protection for EVERY citizen who is, has been or is perceived to be a whistleblower and those associated with the whistleblower.

·         Mandatory minimum standards for policies and procedures and Investigations of protected disclosures.

·         A new judicial process for deciding disputes arising from whistleblowing.

·         Significant fines and penalties for individuals and organisations that discriminate or retaliate against whistleblowers.

·         Dedicated helplines, Education and Support for the Public and Organisations and an ongoing Public Awareness Campaign to ensure that every citizen knows their rights and how to access them.

I urge everyone with an interest to read the Bill itself and decide on your position based on the facts.
For accurate info. on the Protection for #Whistleblowing Bill read it here: https://t.co/mIE77bjNTV

  • 0 reactions so far
Edited by Steve Turner
Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...