UK - Nurse Lucy Letby, Faces 22 Charges - 7 Murder/15 Attempted Murder of Babies #21

[Tortoise]

10:29am

The trial is due to resume at 10.30am. Lucy Letby will be giving evidence for her fifth day, over a period spanning nearly two weeks due to public holidays and non-sitting court days.
Legal teams and Lucy Letby have arrived in court.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[katydid23]

Re. Baby K's resus, there would have been several other staff involved as well as Dr. J and (allegedly) LL. Does anyone know if we've heard from them? Also, am I misremembering that Dr. J asked someone who was babysitting while the designated nurse was talking to parents?

Yes, he did say that when the designated nurse for Baby K left the unit, he was in the nurses station. And he said someone mentioned that LL was 'babysitting' baby K. And that concerned him. So after a few minutes he went into room 1, which is just steps away from the nurses station.


- LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, Tuesday, February 28

Dr Jayaram says he was aware Joanne Williams was going to the labour ward to update the parents on Child K.
He said he was sitting at a desk, around the corner from the entrance to nursery room 1. He says he was writing in notes, or waiting for the transfer team to come back to him regarding arrangements.
He said he had been told Lucy Letby would be 'babysitting' at the time - a common term used by the hospital to describe a neonatal nurse temporarily looking after a baby in the absence of its designated nurse.
He says, at this point, in February 2016, he was aware of 'unexpected/unusual events' that had happened recently, and that Lucy Letby had been present.
He said: "I felt extremely uncomfortable [with Lucy Letby being there alone in the room with Child K]

 

[Tortoise]

17m ago10:21

Coming up this morning​

Lucy Letby is due to carry on giving evidence in questioning by her defence lawyer Ben Myers KC this morning.
Yesterday we heard the former nurse give her recollection of incidents involving children I to N.
My Myers is in the process of taking Letby through each charge against her, with this line of questioning to continue when proceedings resume.
The babies in this case - referred to only as Child A to Q - cannot be named for legal reasons.
The ex-nurse, 33, is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 more - she denies all the charges.

7m ago10:32

Court resumes​

Jurors are back in the court and Lucy Letby's fifth day of evidence is under way.
Letby wears a blue shirt, black trousers and black blazer, and an iPad sits on the table in front of her.
The defendant remains seated while giving evidence.

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[notsure]

There has been a lot of research into the (un)reliability of memory in eyewitness testimony. People's memories of events can be completely inaccurate, influenced by hearing other people's accounts and change completely.

Article here for anyone interested:

Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Biases

Eyewitnesses can provide very compelling legal testimony, but rather than recording experiences flawlessly, their memories are susceptible to a variety of errors and biases. They (like the rest of us) can make errors in remembering specific details and can even remember whole events that did not...

nobaproject.com

 

[marynnu]

Yes, he did say that when the designated nurse for Baby K left the unit, he was in the nurses station. And he said someone mentioned that LL was 'babysitting' baby K. And that concerned him. So after a few minutes he went into room 1, which is just steps away from the nurses station.


- LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, Tuesday, February 28

Dr Jayaram says he was aware Joanne Williams was going to the labour ward to update the parents on Child K.
He said he was sitting at a desk, around the corner from the entrance to nursery room 1. He says he was writing in notes, or waiting for the transfer team to come back to him regarding arrangements.
He said he had been told Lucy Letby would be 'babysitting' at the time - a common term used by the hospital to describe a neonatal nurse temporarily looking after a baby in the absence of its designated nurse.
He says, at this point, in February 2016, he was aware of 'unexpected/unusual events' that had happened recently, and that Lucy Letby had been present.
He said: "I felt extremely uncomfortable [with Lucy Letby being there alone in the room with Child K]

Thanks Katydid. So, I wonder if that person, or Joanne Williams, could confirm what he says? It would at least place LL there for certain.

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
8m

Ms Letby is now in the witness box. Mr Myers is first turning to Child N's final collapse at around 15:00 on 15 June. Medics were crash bleeped as the boy's oxygen levels had fallen to 44%.



Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
7m

Dr Huw Mayberry was first to respond. When he looked into Child N's airway, he saw a “large swelling at the end of his epiglottis”. He previously told the court that he had never seen anything like this before in a newborn baby

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
5m

The court has previously heard that there were many difficulties intubating Child N. They persisted on June 15

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
4m

Mr Myers asks what the atmosphere was like on the unit at that time, she said: 'It was becoming increasingly chaotic, more and more staff were coming to try and assist. There was a sense of panic around the unit, we weren’t sure how we were going to manage (Child N)'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
4m

Ms Letby says there were around 10-15 people on the unit trying to assist with Child N's care. Situation was complicated by the fact Child N had a rare blood condition. Eventually a specialist team from Alder Hey were called in to assist with treatment

 

[Tortoise]

10:39am

Benjamin Myers KC, for Letby's defence, is asking Letby questions for the third event for Child N on June 15, 2016.
Lucy Letby's nursing note on that day, written retrospectively, includes: 'Infant has had periods of apnoea during the morning...improving by afternoon. Observations stable...
'Approx 1450 infant became apnoeic, with desaturation to 44% hr 90bpm, fresh blood noted from mouth and 3mls blood aspirated from NG Tube....Neopuff commenced and Drs crash called...unable to obtain secure airway...[Drs] unable to insert ET Tube...I Gel airway inserted and infant ventilated'
Letby says after this event, she has some memory of it. "It was becoming increasingly chaotic- more and more staff [were called out to assist].
"There was a sense of panic that we weren't sure how we were going to manage [Child N].
"There were loads of people [called to care for him], I would say 10-15.
"[Child N] needed such care that he needed two people to care for him [at all times].
A transport team from Alder Hey was called out to assist, and bring 'Factor 8' "as an emergency".
Letby says Factor 8 was required for Child N, but none was available on the unit.
Mr Myers says it was known Child N required Factor 8, and Child N had been at the unit since his birth.
Letby: "It became a panic then."
"I think baptism was offered to the parents at some point...there was a lot going on in the room.
"The team from Alder Hey came and there was a lot of discussion...the team had brought a lot of specialist equipment over...at this time, handover was taking place [around 7.30pm] and around this time, that was when the episode happened."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

If anyone wants to do some of the updates just say, or do.

There's

Chester Standard - LIVE: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

Sky News Lucy Letby trial - live: Ex-nurse in witness box after denying she had killing babies on mind before Ibiza trip

Dan BBC Tweets https://twitter.com/MrDanDonoghue/with_replies

 

[Tortoise]

10:44am

Doctor's notes record: 'At 1940 desat 80 [down to] 50 [down to] 40% + associated brady. Resus...'
Letby's notes written at 8.53pm recorded: 'Medical team from AHCH arrived approx 1900. Assessed [Child N] and decision made to attempt intubation in CLS theatre...at 1940 profound desaturation (30s) with colour loss. stiff and back arching. Became bradycardiac....mottled++. Drs present. Resus commenced...care handed over. All events took place on NNU prior to moving to CLS theatres. NWTS team arrived 2040.'
Letby says Child N "was the focus of the whole unit" at that point, and there were concerns.
"It was a real concern, we were all worried about him."
"It was something I had never experienced before - I had never seen that many people in the nursery for one baby.
"The concern was if we couldn't get an airway...then we would have to undergo surgery...
"It was frightening...for his safety."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

reminder of her message to doc choc in the morning -

"At 11.29am Letby sent a Facebook message to the doctor telling him “small amounts of blood from mouth and 1ml from ng. Looks like pulmonary bleed on x ray [i.e. a bleed from the lungs]. Given factor 8 – wait and see”."

Recap: Prosecution opens trial of Lucy Letby accused of Countess of Chester Hospital baby murders

 

[Tortoise]

10:50am

Mr Myers now turns to the case of Child O, one of three triplet brothers born on June 21, 2016, weighing 2,020g, at a gestational age of 33 weeks and 2 days, at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Child P is another one of the triplet brothers.
Mr Myers recalls the events for Child O, who died at 5.47am on June 23. A post-mortem examination showed damage to the liver.
Lucy Letby says prior to this, she had been abroad on holiday with her nursing colleague and a friend. A rota of Letby's shifts showed she was off June 16-22.
The rota shows she was on long day shifts for June 23-25 and June 28-30.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[ColourPurple]

Letby describes 'chaos' and 'panic' as staff worked to save Child N
Lucy Letby says the atmosphere on the Countess of Chester neonatal unit was "increasingly chaotic" as staff made multiple unsuccessful attempts to reintubate Child N after his oxygen levels fell during the afternoon of 15 June 2016.

"More and more staff were coming to try and assist. There was a sense of panic around the unit as we weren't sure how we were going to manage [Child N]."

Asked if she remembers how many people gathered in the nursery where Child N was, she says "loads... 10 to 15".

Letby tells jurors that she was not the only nurse caring for Child N at any point as he had a high-level care need.

A more specialist team from another hospital had to be called in to carry out the intubation, the court hears.

The ex-nurse says she felt stressed and anxious as the situation was something she "had never experienced before".

"We'd never had to have staff from another hospital come in, had never seen that many people in the nursery."

She said the prospect Child N might have needed surgery was "frightening, for his safety, we wanted him to be well".

"The fact we couldn't manage his airway was concerning."

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[katydid23]

Dan O'Donoghue

https://twitter.com/MrDanDonoghue

Nurse Lucy Letby's evidence enters the fifth day at Manchester Crown. She is accused of murdering 7 babies and attempting to murder a further 10 in 2015/2016 at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Her defence lawyer, Ben Myers KC, has been asking her about each allegation in turn.

Mr Myers will continue questions on Child N this morning. It is alleged Ms Letby attempted to murder the baby boy a day before she flew out to Ibiza with a colleague and a friend in June 2016

Mr Myers yesterday asked Ms Letby how she felt in the run up to her holiday, she said: 'We were excited. We were looking forward to it' Mr Myers asked, in the middle of holiday prep, was she 'planning on killing babies' 'No', she said

Ms Letby is now in the witness box. Mr Myers is first turning to Child N's final collapse at around 15:00 on 15 June. Medics were crash bleeped as the boy's oxygen levels had fallen to 44%.

Dr Huw Mayberry was first to respond. When he looked into Child N's airway, he saw a “large swelling at the end of his epiglottis”. He previously told the court that he had never seen anything like this before in a newborn baby

The court has previously heard that there were many difficulties intubating Child N. They persisted on June 15

 

[Tortoise]

10:57am

Messages are shown to the court between Letby and Jennifer Jones-Key from June 22,
Letby confirms when she is back in, adding: "Yep probably be back in with a bang lol"
Asked to explain that, Letby says she would be back in a busy shift. Asked by Mr Myers, Letby denies she was planning "anything terrible".
Letby said she was "very available" for work as she had no commitments outside work and lived nearby.
A message from a doctor to Letby: "How was the flight? Unpacked as well - it's the only way!! (washing machine on?) Day has been rubbish . Lots of unnecessary stress for nnu and too much work to fit into one day . I may have (over)filled the unit (again) . SHO's have all been fed & watered and the babies are generally ok - so maybe not as bad as I'm thinking!"
Letby: "Glad it's over but flight was & airport was fine thinks (on 2nd load of washing!!)
"Oh that's not good back to earth with a bump for me tomorrow then!!
"You seem to be quite good at acquiring babies to fill our empty cots....?"
The reply: "It's a skill I've had for years . To be fair, there wasn't a social admission! Yes, you might be a bit busy. Oh - you're right, I made sure they went first. Just realised when I last ate (oops)"
Letby says it was not unusual for the unit to be busy.
She adds there was also discussion, at this time, about removing level 4 unit nurses from the neonatal unit.
A shift rota for June 23 is shown. Letby was designated nurse for the triplets in room 2.
Mr Myers asked if managing three babies in a high dependency was outside the ratio required for nurses to babies. Letby says it is - it should be one nurse to two babies in that room.
In room 1, two nurses are looking after four babies. Letby says the care should be 1:1 [ie one designated nurse to one baby], and the room is full.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

[lots of emojis in the actual text which don't appear here with copy/paste function]

 

[katydid23]

duplicate

[that is a weird way to word it>>>>>>'It was frightening for his safety', she said]

 

[ColourPurple]

Defence moves to triplet brothers​

Ben Myers KC now moves to the cases of Child O and P, two triplet brothers, who both died within a week of their births in June 2016.
Lucy Letby is accused of both of their murders, which she denies.
Letby was on her first shift back following a holiday on 23 June, when Child O died. Child P died the following day.

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[katydid23]

Dan O'Donoghue


Mr Myers asks what the atmosphere was like on the unit at that time, she said: 'It was becoming increasingly chaotic, more and more staff were coming to try and assist. There was a sense of panic

Ms Letby says there were around 10-15 people on the unit trying to assist with Child N's care. Situation was complicated by the fact Child N had a rare blood condition. Eventually a specialist team from Alder Hey were called in to assist with treatment

Ms Letby is recalling a further collapse of Child N at 19:40 on June 15. Mr Myers brings up medical notes that show a number of doctors attended to the baby boy at that time as he had desaturated and required resuscitation

Ms Letby is asked how she was feeling at this time, she said she was 'very worried' about Child N. She said she had 'never experienced' so many experienced staff struggling to intubate a baby like that 'It was frightening for his safety', she said




[that is a weird way to word it>>>>>>'It was frightening for his safety', she said]

 

[Tortoise]

11:14am

Notes by Sophie Ellis are shown to the court for the night of June 22-23, recording observations for Child O. They include: 'TPN stopped as reached full feeds of DEBM [donor expressed breast milk], tolerating well, 12mls 2x12. Antibiotics stopped...blood gas completed at 0532 - lactate 2.3'
Letby says that lactate reading is outside the normal range, and she would inform a doctor about that reading.
Sophie Ellis adds: 'Abdo looks full slightly loopy. Appeared uncomfortable after feed.'
Letby says Rebecca Morgan was a student nurse on her first day of placement on the unit, and Letby was the designated mentor.
She tells the court the student nurse would be orientated on to the unit by a senior member of staff, but that was not possible due to the unit being busy, so she carried out the induction process herself.
"On top of looking after three high dependency babies?"
"Yes - I didn't know I was going to be looking after a student [until I arrived at the unit]."
Letby messaged a colleague: "It's busy but no vents [patients on ventilators] anymore. I've got triplets in 2 all ok. But got a student and first day, 2 hourly feeds etc no time to do anything lol and Yvonne f in but said i can show her sound etc x"
The reply: "What?! That's ridiculous. When r u meant to get time to do a proper induction?"
Letby: "No idea, she's nice enough but bit hard going to start from scratch with everything when got 3 babies i don't know and 2 hourly etc. Ahh well."
Letby also messaged a doctor: "My student is glued to me....."
Letby's nursing notes for Child O included: '...abdomen appeared full, but soft and non-distended...reviewed by [registrar] at 1315 - [Child O] had vomitted (undigested milk), tachycardiac and abdomen distended.'
Letby says two-hourly observations were required for all three babies in room 2, and the student nurse would also be involved.
A fluid balance chart shows student nurse Rebecca Morgan has completed the reading for 8.30am, and had been doing the feed. For 10am and noon, the court hears Letby has signed the observation, but Rebecca Morgan has filled in the entries for feeds and aspirates.
For Child O's observations chart, Rebecca Morgan has signed and filled in the observations at 8.30am and 10.30am. Letby says she has written in the observations for 1.30pm and 2.30pm.
Letby says the 12.30pm observations have been filled in by Rebecca Morgan, but were not signed "due to human error". She denies there was anything "sinister" in leaving out the initials on the chart.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, May 17 - defence continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[ColourPurple]

'I wanted to give best care I could to babies,' Letby tells court

Lucy Letby says she was responsible for the induction of a student nurse during her day shift on 23 June.

She didn't know she had a student until that morning, she tells the court.

A text from Letby to a colleague - shown to jurors - sent on the morning of 23 June, says: "I've got triplets in [nursery two] all ok. But got a student and first day, 2 hourly feeds etc no time to do anything lol..."

A later message to a registrar doctor on the unit said "my student is glued to me...."

Ben Myers KC says: "The prosecution allege that you intended to kill Child O [on 23 June], is that something you were planning?"

"No," Letby replies.

"What did you intend to do?"

"Give the best care I could to the babies and also support the student nurse."

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[katydid23]

Dan O'Donoghue
Baby O and P

We're now moving to Child O. He was one of triplet brothers and was born in good condition in June 2016. The court has heard he was stable up until 23 June, when he suffered a "remarkable deterioration" and was moved to nursery one, where he stabilised.

He later suffered a further fatal collapse. A post-mortem examination found unclotted blood in his body from a liver injury, which led a coroner to conclude his death was due to natural causes.

An independent pathologist, who later reviewed the case, said the boy had suffered an "impact injury" akin to a road traffic collision, while medical experts for the prosecution said he died due to a combination of that injury and air being injected into his bloodstream.

Mr Myers has asked Ms Letby what was going on in her life in the week prior to Child O's collapse and death - she tells the court she was on holiday in Ibiza with a colleague and a friend

Mr Myers pulls up text messages sent at that time, in one message (after she arrived back in the UK and was told about the birth of triplets on the unit) she said 'back in with a bang lol'

Mr Myers asks Ms Letby what she meant by that message, she said 'that I’d come back and be straight back on a busy shift' - asked if she was planning anything 'dramatic and terrible' upon her return, she said 'no'

Mr Myers is now focusing on June 23, the day Child O died. He notes that Ms Letby had a student nurse with her that day. He asks Ms Letby if she was planning to kill Child O that day, she says 'no' and that she was planning to 'give the best care that I could for the babies'

Mr Myers is currently taking the jury back over observation charts for Child O, they show that a student nurse (who was on shift with Ms Letby that day) carried out a large proportion of the obs that day

At around 13:15 Ms Letby heard Child O's alarm and went to check on him in nursery two - he had vomited undigested milk. A doctor was called to review and he was deemed stable at that point