Ministers have promised sweeping changes to the NHS after a “devastating” official review concluded that three babies might have survived if hospital bosses and doctors had acted on concerns about the nurse Lucy Letby.
A public inquiry found a “complete failure” to protect babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England.
In a series of findings, the inquiry chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, said two newborn twins would not have died and five others would not have been harmed if Letby had been removed from the unit sooner.
Thirlwall said a third baby who died, a two-month-old girl, and two others who suffered unexplained collapses might have been protected if a doctor had detected an earlier insulin poisoning on the unit. One of those infants, now aged 11, suffered a lifelong brain injury and needs 24-hour care.
Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, said she was “profoundly sorry” for the “devastating” failures revealed in the report, telling MPs: “This must be a turning point for the NHS.” She said she had asked officials to urgently take forward plans for “cot cam” monitors for neonatal units in line with Thirlwall’s recommendation.
Source: The Guardian, 15 September 2026
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