'I raised the alarm about Lucy Letby - the hospital made me apologise to her'

19 August 2023 , 21:49

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Ravi Jayaram, consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital, raised concerns about the nurse (Image: ITV)

A doctor who first raised concerns about years before her arrest said he was forced to apologise to the killer nurse for “victimisation”.

, and trying to kill six more. She was also found not guilty on two further attempted murder charges.

Her year-long murder spree began in June 2015 and she struck mostly on night shifts when she was alone on the ward looking after sleeping babies.

Ravi Jayaram, consultant paediatrician at the hospital, first expressed concerns to management in 2015 when more sudden and unexpected collapses followed before police were contacted in 2017.

The hospital staff apologised to Letby in a letter (Chester Standard / SWNS.com)

He told that former chief executive Tony Chambers told consultants at a meeting in January 2017: “I'm drawing a line under this, you will draw a line under this, and if you cross that line, there will be consequences for you.”

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Hospital executives are said to have warned them any allegations made to the police would result in “blue and white tape” in the wards. Dr Jayaram and another consultant Dr Stephen Brearey were told to enter mediation with Letby, and were also told her father had threatened to refer them to the General Medical Council unless the allegations against his daughter were withdrawn.

The threat led to a letter, seen by the Observer, which read: "Dear Lucy, we would like to apologise for any inappropriate comments that may have been made during this difficult period. We are very sorry for the stress and upset you have experienced in the last year. Please be reassured patient safety has been our absolute priority during this difficult time."

During the trial, Mr Jayaram had told proceedings: "As clinicians, we put our faith in the system, in senior management to escalate concerns and investigate them. The initial response was 'it's unlikely that anything is going on. We'll see what happens'."

Letby’s victims included three sets of twins and two of three triplets. It was claimed she attacked some infants on multiple occasions. When investigators later looked at staff shift patterns, it became clear she was the only nurse working when all 17 children were harmed. Letby was said to have targeted her final three victims in June 2016 after returning to work from a holiday in Ibiza.

Earlier she had texted a friend saying: "Probably be back in with a bang lol”. Within 72 hours of that message, two babies were dead, a third survived. It was claimed by that point in time she had "got away with so much" she was "completely out of control”. She believed “she could pretty much do whatever she wanted”.

Antony Clements-Thrower