Inquiry finds hospital managers failed to act on Letby warnings, costing infant lives

The Thirlwall Inquiry concluded that senior managers and senior nurses at the Countess of Chester Hospital did not act on repeated alerts that neonatal nurse Lucy Letby might have been harming infants, a failure that contributed to infant deaths. Consultants’ concerns, including a striking insulin‑poisoning blood test in August 2015, were dismissed and doctors who raised alarms faced threats of regulatory referral. The report criticised chief executive Tony Chambers and medical director Ian Harvey and presented 14 recommendations, such as installing baby monitors on every neonatal cot. Families of the affected children are pressing the government to implement the recommendations, while Letby’s lawyers have lodged an application with the Criminal Cases Review Commission to seek a Court of Appeal review.