UK hospital criticised for failing to protect babies in Lucy Letby inquiry

An independent inquiry has concluded that parents of infants treated at the Countess of Chester Hospital were not informed that the trust was conducting secret reviews into suspicions surrounding former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby. The investigation, commissioned after Letby’s 2023 conviction for the murders of eight babies and the attempted murder of six others, examined internal communications, board minutes and interview transcripts from 2015‑2020. It found that senior managers deliberately limited disclosure of the ongoing review to protect the hospital’s reputation and to avoid alarming families, despite mounting concerns about Letby’s conduct.

The inquiry’s report details that the hospital’s “confidential review” process was initiated in early 2018 after a series of unexplained infant deaths, yet no formal notification was sent to affected parents. Instead, families were offered generic updates that omitted reference to Letby or the investigation’s scope. The report recommends that the NHS implement mandatory transparency protocols for future safeguarding reviews, provide formal apologies and support to the families, and consider independent oversight of hospital investigations to ensure that patient safety concerns are communicated promptly.