Tony Chambers takes seat in the witness box
10:03
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
The chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, has entered.
Former Countess of Chester Hospital CEO Tony Chambers is called to the witness box.
He will be questioned by Counsel to the Inquiry Nicholas de la Poer KC.
10:06
Chambers says he is 'truly sorry' to impacted families as he begins
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Chambers says that he wants to say something before his evidence begins.
He takes a long, deep, breath and says: “So… right at the outset I just want to offer my heartfelt condolences to all of the families whose babies are at the heart of this inquiry."
"I can only imagine… well, I can’t imagine, the impact that this has had on your lives, and I am truly sorry for the pain that may have been prolonged by any decisions or actions that I took in good faith," he says.
"I am very grateful to have this opportunity to take part, openly and honestly in this inquiry and hope that answers can be arrived at and recommendations made.”
Chambers says 'difficult' to deny personal failing in handling concerns
10:16
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Inquiry counsel Nicholas de la Poer KC begins by saying he wants to give Chambers "the opportunity ….to identify" his most significant failure.
Chambers says that "it was not a personal failing. I’ve reflected long and hard as to why the board wasn’t aware of the unexplained increase in mortality in 2015 and 2016".
He says as CEO, it was his responsibility to deliver "safe care within the hospital" but adds that "the processes that we had in place weren’t being used properly, and I think I must take some responsibility for that".
De la Poer asks if Chambers believes he had any personal failing.
"It’s difficult to say otherwise. My witness statement has acknowledged that," Chambers says.
Chambers says he became aware of concerns with Letby after death of Baby P
10:26
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Chambers says that the first time he became aware of concerns with Letby was on 29 June 2016.
That was five days after the death of Baby P, the last of the babies Letby has been convicted of murdering and attempting to murder.
On 24 June 2016, the day that Baby P died, two senior consultants told Director of Nursing Alison Kelly that they believed Letby was causing deliberate harm.
Letby was able to carry on working for another four days.
De la Poer asks Chambers if Letby's ability to keep working at the hospital mean that the issue wasn't being taken seriously enough.
"All I can say for certain is that I knew on the 29th - I was not aware of Letby’s name at that time. I was not aware specifically of the nature of the concerns," Chambers says.
Allegations about Lucy Letby were 'shocking things to hear'
10:30
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Tony Chambers met with paediatric consultants on 29 June 2016.
At that time, they explained to Chambers why they believed Lucy Letby was causing deliberate harm to babies.
Chambers is asked if he accepts that this was borne out of expert knowledge and experience. He says: "This was the first time that I’d been made aware of these matters. These were very shocking things to hear. I listened and heard their concerns."
Chambers agrees with de la Poer's suggestion that the consultants were experts. "I was a layperson in context of this so these were concerns that were being relayed to us by the doctors on our unit," he says.
De la Poer puts it to Chambers that the paediatric consultants were looking for leadership.
"I think that's absolutely right," Chambers says.
'We wouldn't jump to criminality as a causal factor'
10:39
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Chambers says that typically "we wouldn't jump to criminality as a causal factor" in the deaths and would "want to explore a broader set of answers" to questions about the deaths.
De la Poer says that in his testimony, Dr Ravi Jayaram gave evidence saying he raised concerns of deliberate harm being caused to the babies.
"You said: 'I can see how that would be a convenient explanation for you, but there must be something else.'"
Chambers says he doesn't recall making that comment.
A note from the meeting between Chambers and the consultants is recorded as reading: "Nurse cannot be excluded". Chambers accepts that this must have been said by one of the executives at the meeting.
Concerns over Letby's role in deaths presented 'significant safety concern' - Chambers
10:51
Judith Moritz
Special correspondent, reporting from the inquiry
Counsel to the Inquiry Nicholas de la Poer KC asks former Countess of Chester Hospital chief executive Tony Chambers if steps should have been taken to remove Letby from the staffing rota after hearing the concerns of consultants on 29 June 2016.
"What I was hearing was that there were concerns being raised, there was some hypothesis of what those causes of harm might be and there was a suggestion that there was a member of staff who was on duty more times than another member of staff," Chambers says.
De la Poer asks if the allegations about Letby were a safeguarding concern.
"It's a significant safety concern," Chambers says.
He adds that what de la Poer is "presenting is a very emphatic, descriptive description of harm and a very subjective link to one individual.
"(But) there was strong rebuttal to the proposition that this one nurse was deliberately causing harm … There was a very strong level of support for this individual."
The former medical director of Lucy Letby's hospital, Ian Harvey, is appearing before the Thirlwall Inquiry, giving evidence about how the hospital handled the case.
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