Nursing and Midwifery Council ‘should’ve acted faster’ over Letby
Nursing watchdog “should have acted more quickly” in responding to concerns about baby killer Lucy Letby, its new boss has said.
Paul Rees, appointed head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in July, told The Independent that neonatal nurse Letby should have been suspended after her first arrest in July 2018.
Letby remained free to work at Chester Countess Hospital without any restrictions imposed by the NMC until she was charged in November 2020.
The now 35-year-old, from Hereford, is serving 15 life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others between 2015 and 2016, including one twice.
Revised NMC rules now mean investigators no longer need to wait for a nurse to be charged before they can issue a temporary suspension order.
Mr Rees said: “We have amended the guidance, so it is now clear that in exceptional cases of serious criminal conduct we will take action and apply an interim order.
“It is our responsibility to act quickly and implement these interim orders.”
Asked if he expected the NMC to be criticized by the public inquiry examining the authorities’ responses to Letby’s crimes, Mr Rees said: “We don’t know yet, but it’s a possibility because we should have acted more quickly.”
Lady Justice Thirlwall’s final report is expected to be published next year.
The NMC was contacted in July 2016 by Alison Kelly, who was then director of nursing at the Countess of Chester Hospital, after consultant pediatricians raised concerns that Letby had deliberately harmed babies in the neonatal unit.
Letby was redeployed to non-clinical duties but was due to return to the unit when the move was put on hold when hospital bosses contacted police in May 2017 asking them to investigate a higher than expected number of deaths.
She continued to work in the hospital’s patient risk and safety department until her arrest in July 2018.
A senior lawyer for the NMC concluded that unless Letby was charged, there were insufficient grounds to obtain an interim order which could have led to her suspension or restriction of her practice.
Letby was sentenced to 14 life sentences in August 2023 after being convicted of seven murders and six attempted murders. She tried twice to kill one of the babies.
She was stripped of her nursing qualifications and removed from the register at an NMC hearing in December 2023.
Letby was sentenced to a 15th life sentence in July 2024 after being found guilty of attempted murder of another premature baby girl.
