Teaching trust reviewing decisions made under Letby CEO

A trust which hired the former chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital as an interim CEO has launched a review of decisions about safety and whistleblowing taken under his leadership.

Jacqui Smith, chair-in-common at Barts Health and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals trusts, made the announcement at a board meeting, following the nurse Lucy Letby’s conviction for murdering seven babies, and attempting to murder six more, during a year-long period between June 2015 and June 2016.

Tony Chambers was Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust CEO for six years from December 2012 to September 2018, and resigned shortly after Letby’s initial arrest. His role – and that of fellow senior managers in Chester – in responding to concerns raised by doctors, has come under intense scrutiny since the verdicts.

Mr Chambers served as BHRUT’s interim chief from January 2020 until August 2021, and Ms Smith told BHRUT’s board: “In the light of concerns, particularly around listening to staff and patients, and given the seriousness of the events, we will undertake a look at the periods of Tony Chambers’ tenure.

“To see whether there are, firstly, any significant decisions taken regarding quality and safety that we need to look at again, and [secondly], checking our log of whistleblowing cases and other concerns to make sure that they have been appropriately followed up."

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Source: HSJ, 8 September 2023