Posted 02 January 2024 - 14:30
Posted 02 January 2024 - 14:30
News
Letby inquiry: former head of nursing named as core participant
Alison Kelly is one of four former senior managers at the Countess of Chester named as core participants in the Letby inquiry expected to start in September
Alison Kelly is one of four former senior managers at the Countess of Chester named as core participants in the Letby inquiry expected to start in September
A former director of nursing at the hospital trust where former nurse Lucy Letby murdered babies has been named as a core participant in the public inquiry into Letby’s crimes.
Four former senior managers among core participants named for Letby inquiry
The Countess of Chester’s former head of nursing Alison Kelly has been named by the Thirlwall Inquiry along with three other former executives at the trust.
The other core participants are former chief executive Tony Chambers, former medical director Ian Harvey and former human resources director Sue Hodkinson.
Ms Kelly was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with concerns about how she handled complaints about Letby from consultants who raised the alarm.
Letby continued to practise one year after consultants raised concerns
The inquiry, headed by Lady Justice Thirlwall, is due to begin hearing evidence this year.
Letby was sentenced to a whole-life order in August 2023 after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others while she worked on the Countess of Chester’s neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
During the trial at Manchester Crown Court jurors heard how consultants had raised concerns about Letby’s association with baby deaths as early as June 2015, but she was not removed from nursing duties until June 2016.
Mr Chambers resigned from the hospital in 2018 after police launched an investigation into the deaths.
The inquiry has published a full list of its core participants, which also includes the NMC, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Care Quality Commission.
Inquiry is likely to be delayed until September
In November 2023, Lady Thirlwall, a senior appeal court judge, made her first public address where she vowed to investigate the circumstances around the crimes from ‘ward to boardroom’.
She confirmed that due to the ongoing police investigation into the trust, along with Letby’s retrial on one count of attempted murder and her ongoing appeal, it was unlikely the inquiry could start hearings until September 2024.
Announcing the inquiry timetable she urged all nurses and managers working in NHS neonatal units across England to complete an anonymous survey on NHS culture to aid the inquiry, including whether trusts should consider having CCTV in neonatal wards.
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