Posted 21 February 2023 - 13:30
Posted 21 February 2023 - 13:30
News
Lucy Letby told police harmful insulin dose ‘was not done by me’
The nurse told police that insulin found in Child L’s blood ‘must have been in one of the bags or fluids he was receiving’, jury hears
The nurse told police that insulin found in Child L’s blood ‘must have been in one of the bags or fluids he was receiving’, jury hears
A nurse accused of multiple murders told police detectives any deliberate dose of insulin given to a baby boy was ‘not done by me’, jurors heard.
Crown has accused Lucy Letby of attack on Child L and his twin brother
Lucy Letby added that she did not believe herself or colleagues had administered a dose by accident and instead it ‘must have been in the bags or fluid’.
The nurse is accused of intentionally poisoning the baby, who was a twin, while on duty at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit in April 2016.
The Crown say she harmed the infant on 9 April and on the same day caused the sudden collapse of his brother who stopped breathing as his oxygen levels and heart rate dipped.
Both boys went on to recover and were discharged home the following month, Manchester Crown Court was told on Monday.
Ms Letby denied deliberate act of sabotage
Following her arrest, Ms Letby was interviewed by officers at Cheshire Police and denied deliberately administering insulin to Child L, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.
She said to her knowledge neither she nor a nursing colleague had accidentally administered the substance, which had not been prescribed. Ms Letby added she could not believe such a mistake would have been made.
When suggested by detectives it was a deliberate act of sabotage, the defendant replied: ‘That was not done by me.’
Asked if she had any explanation for the presence of insulin in Child L’s circulation she said it ‘must have been in one of the bags or fluids he was receiving’.
Blood samples confirm insulin was given to Child L and not produced naturally
Royal Liverpool Hospital consultant clinical scientist Anna Milan previously told the court a blood sample from Child L sent to the hospital’s laboratory by the Countess of Chester Hospital showed the insulin was exogenous. The readings confirmed it was given to the infant rather than being naturally produced by the pancreas, she told the court. The results were later communicated by phone to the Countess of Chester Hospital’s biochemistry laboratory on 14 April.
Jurors were also told that three vials of insulin were issued to the neonatal unit in 2014, six vials in 2015 and two vials in 2016. Insulin was kept in a locked fridge in an equipment room but the keys would be passed between nurses on duty as and when required, the court heard.
Ms Letby is also accused of attempting to murder another child, also a twin boy, with the administration of insulin in August 2015. She denies the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of ten others between June 2015 and June 2016.
The trial continues.
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