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

[ColourPurple]

ome of Dan's tweets re Baby 21st Sep incident
@MrDanDonoghue
·


Asked about the second incident on 21 September, Ms Letby recalled seeing Child G was 'dusky and blue and not breathing' and that her monitor was "not on".

Ms Letby said Child G was on a 'procedure trolley' - used for procedures such as cannulation. She says the baby should not have been left alone on the trolley like that. When she discovered this she called for help

Ms Letby says the way Child G was left was 'not good practice at all', she said she was 'very concerned' by the fact she'd been left alone, on a procedure trolley with her monitor off. She raised her concerns with senior nurses

She said she wanted to submit an incident report on DATIX, but there was reluctance on behalf of colleagues to do this as the person responsible was a consultant - Dr John Gibbs

The court has previously heard, from a nursing colleague, that Dr Gibbs was told about this at the time and apologised - in the witness box Dr Gibbs said he could not remember the incident, but accepted the nurse's evidence

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[Tortoise]

Andy Gill

@MerseyHack
·
1h

H had 3 chest drains at the time of the first alleged attack on her. Asked why police found handover notes from the hospital relating to H and others at her home Miss Letby says “They’ve not been taken out of my pocket at the end of the shift and have come home with me.”

Andy Gill

@MerseyHack
·
1h

Police found 257 such notes at her home, 31 of which related to children named in the indictment against Lucy Letby. She says she didn’t realise she had so many and she did not intend to take them home. It didn’t occur to her to get rid of them.

Andy Gill

@MerseyHack
·
1h

Miss Letby says she didn’t want to have care of Baby H on her own because she, Miss Letby, thought she needed more support.

 

[ColourPurple]

Dan's Baby H tweets

We're now moving onto Child H. The prosecution allege Ms Letby caused the premature girl to collapse on 26 and 27 September 2015, but she survived and went to make a full recovery.

Mr Myers has asked Ms Letby what the neonatal unit was like in late September 2015. She says it was 'increasingly busy at this period'. The unit had a capacity for 16 babies, 18 babies were on it at that time

Mr Myers pulls up messages, previously shown to the jury, sent by the neonatal unit manager Yvonne Griffiths to Ms Letby at that time

The manager says: "Hope you have a good sleep. I just want to commend you for all you hard work these last few nights. You composed yourself very well during a stressful situation. It's nice to see your confidence grow as you advance through your career x"

Ms Letby thanked her for the message, but said she was 'still frustrated' with the 'busy' and 'difficult' nights on the overcapacity unit

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[Tortoise]

2:10pm

The trial is now resuming following its lunch break. Benjamin Myers KC is continuing to ask Lucy Letby questions in relation to Child H.
The second event is being discussed. For the night of September 26-27, Lucy Letby was the designated nurse for two babies in room 2. Nurse Christopher Booth was the designated nurse for Child G in room 2, and Nurse Shelley Tomlins was the designated nurse for Child H in room 1.
The court is shown nurse Tomlin's notes for that shift, which include: '...around 2030 [Child H] had profound desat and brady, air entry no longer heard and capnography negative therefore ETT removed and Drs crashbleeped. New ETT sited...on second attempt...'
This event is something, the court hears, Letby is not being blamed for.
'2145 - Desaturation to 40% despite good air entry and positive capnography. ETT suctioned quickly with thick blood-stained secretions noted. [Child H] recovered quickly after...'This was also not an event Letby was blamed for, Mr Myers tells the court.

2:12pm

'0055 - profound desaturation to 40% despite equal bilateral air entry and positive capnography. ET suction yielded nil secretions. [Child H] then went bradycardiac at 0107 to 40bpm and required chest compressions and adrenaline at 0108. Saline bolus given at 0112...'
Letby is asked if she had any involvement with this event.
Letby: "No."

2:14pm

'0330 - profound desaturation to 60s, again requiring neopuffing with no knwon cause for desat....copious amounts of secretions yielded orally, pink tinged. Small amount of ET secretions gained, again pink tinged. Heart rate mainly nomral during desat. Recovered slowly.'
Letby is asked if she had any awareness of any of the events, including at 0055, the event Letby is being blamed for by the prosecution.
Letby: "No."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

"Letby messages her colleague, for Child H, 'I've been helping Shelley [Tomlins, designated nurse for Child H that night] so least still involved but haven't got the responsibility'."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Wednesday, January 18

^ this was the text LL sent that shift on 26th Sep

 

[Diddly1]

Helping so that’s what it’s called now!

 

[Tortoise]

2:29pm

A neonatal review chart is shown to the court, showing nurses' responsibilities and duties throughout the night of September 26-27.
Lucy Letby confirms from the chart she was involved in the administration of medicine and a 'sodium chloride flush', with Shelley Tomlins, on Child H at 10.12pm. This was recorded on the computer the following minute at 10.13pm. The 'flush' was a normal procedure following the administration of such medicine, the court hears.
The next recorded involvement Letby has with Child H is at 10.38pm. Letby tells the court that was for a morphine infusion. That was recorded on the computer at 10.39pm.
The next recorded involvement on the neonatal chart for Letby is at midnight, when Letby is making an observation for a different baby. Letby says she was not near Child H at this time.
Letby confirms to Mr Myers the next involvement with Child H on the chart is from 3.41am, with the administration of prescriptions. She does not recall what those would have been for.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[ColourPurple]

Dan O'Donoghue
We're now moving to Child I, who was born prematurely at Liverpool Women's Hospital and transferred to the Countess of Chester on 18 August 2015.

On 30 September, she needed emergency attention after she vomited and her heart-rate dropped.

She collapsed again on 13 and 14 October, before a fatal deterioration on 23 October.

A medical expert for the prosecution previousy told the court she had been "been subjected to an infusion of air", which prosecutors said Ms Letby had administered

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[Tortoise]

2:37pm

Mr Myers moves on to the case of Child I, a baby girl born on August 7, 2015 at Liverpool Women's Hospital at a gestational age of 27 weeks.
She was transferred to the Countess of Chester Hospital on August 18. 'Active problems' noted by Dr Sally Ogden at the time of transfer included 'preterm, [respiratory distress syndrome], establishing feeds, jaundice, suspected sepsis'.
September 5-6, 2015, saw a number of events where Child I deteriorated and she was transferred to Liverpool. Mr Myers says Letby is not being blamed for those events.
Child I was transferred back to the Countess later that month, and on September 30, at 4pm, Child I had vomiting, brady, apnoea and desaturation, followed by a similar event later that day.
Another event happened on October 13 with Child I deteriorating. The following morning, Child I deteriorated and required resuscitation.
She was transferred to Arrowe Park on October 15 before returning to the Countess on October 17. Child I had a desaturation on October 22, and died the following morning.

2:39pm

Letby is asked if she had a recollection of Child I. Letby says she does.
She was a baby "with us for many months and got to know her [and the family] really well."
She had 'complex problems' which required frequent transfer to Liverpool. Child I's abdomen "was always more distended than normal" and there were occasions when that distention would increase, Letby tells the court.
Letby confirms to Mr Myers she looked after Child I on many occasions.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Blondiexoxo]

Oh this is a very clever display by LL IMO. I would be interested to know if she has been taking notes throughout the prosecutions case and if so, was she allowed to take these notes back to her cell with her at the end of each day? She’s had plenty of time with all the breaks and days off to come up with reasonable explanations for some of the evidence against her.

JMO but the prosecution is going to have a field day pointing out all of the inconsistencies aswell as asking the questions that Myers hasn’t put to her. She seems to be throwing colleagues under the bus, there’s alot of ‘my colleague did x y z not me’…

MOO

 

[nyvictoria]

I am so shocked at the raised concerns being dismissed. I can imagine if found guilty there will be an inquiry into the handling of this by hospital management.

In just about every case of serial killer nurses that I’ve read of, the hospital admins seem very reluctant to investigate. I get the impression that they’re more concerned about lawsuits than they are about dead patients.

The lack of response in this case doesn’t surprise me at all.

 

[Tortoise]

2:42pm

A radiograph from August 23, 2015, is shown to the court. Mr Myers says this had been part of what experts classed as a 'suspicious event', with a clincial note at the time recording 'non-specific gaseous distention of the abdomen which is suggestive of [NEC]' in Child I.
A record of Letby's work shifts shows Letby was not in work that day.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[ColourPurple]

Oh this is a very clever display by LL IMO. I would be interested to know if she has been taking notes throughout the prosecutions case and if so, was she allowed to take these notes back to her cell with her at the end of each day? She’s had plenty of time with all the breaks and days off to come up with reasonable explanations for some of the evidence against her.

JMO but the prosecution is going to have a field day pointing out all of the inconsistencies aswell as asking the questions that Myers hasn’t put to her. She seems to be throwing colleagues under the bus, there’s alot of ‘my colleague did x y z not me’…

MOO

It was reported that she'd been taking notes during the trial. Not sure whether she'd be allowed to take them back with her.

And yes surely she must realise that the prosecution are going to question every change of story. I wonder, if guilty, if she thinks she can just find a reason to bail out before then, and not have to face the questioning.

JMO, if guilty

 

[Blondiexoxo]

2:14pm

'0330 - profound desaturation to 60s, again requiring neopuffing with no knwon cause for desat....copious amounts of secretions yielded orally, pink tinged. Small amount of ET secretions gained, again pink tinged. Heart rate mainly nomral during desat. Recovered slowly.'
Letby is asked if she had any awareness of any of the events, including at 0055, the event Letby is being blamed for by the prosecution.
Letby: "No."

But she did have awareness of the events? She was later texting colleagues about these events, even telling them she had made the decision to transfer baby H to arrow park, a decision she thought ‘was sensible’. How can she say she is not aware of them when her text messages show she was informing colleagues about them?

This sounds like she is saying not only did she not harm baby H but that she had ‘no awareness’ of any of the events.. IMO

 

[ColourPurple]

Mr Myers starts by asking Ms Letby if she has a general recollection of Child I. She says yes, she says Child I was 'a baby with us for many months, we got to know her and her family well during that time'. She said she remembers the baby girl having 'a number of complex issues'

Ms Letby is being asked about the first allegation in relation to Child I (on 30 September). She was working a day shift and she was Child I's designated nurse, asked if she did anything to cause her collapse she said 'no', asked if she ever would, she said 'no'

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[Blondiexoxo]

It was reported that she'd been taking notes during the trial. Not sure whether she'd be allowed to take them back with her.

And yes surely she must realise that the prosecution are going to question every change of story. I wonder, if guilty, if she thinks she can just find a reason to bail out before then, and not have to face the questioning.

JMO, if guilty

By taking the stand she has to face the prosecutions cross examination, she can’t just say I don’t want them to question me. If you take the stand you open yourself up to the prosecutions questioning, so she’s going to have to come up with something. She could suddenly become ‘ill’ on the stand but even so, as soon as she’s well enough the prosecution will be there waiting to cross examine her. That’s why they ask several times if the defendant is sure they want to testify, and many solicitors will advise their client against tesitifying because the cross examination can often harm their defense case.

 

[ColourPurple]

By taking the stand she has to face the prosecutions cross examination, she can’t just say I don’t want them to question me. If you take the stand you open yourself up to the prosecutions questioning, so she’s going to have to come up with something. She could suddenly become ‘I’ll’ on the stand but even so, as soon as she’s well enough the prosecution will be there waiting to cross examine her.

That's what I'm thinking. I''ve never seen somebody change their story so much in the dock. I'm finding it weirdly fascinating!

 

[Tortoise]

2:52pm

Letby says she was looking after Child I and two other babies in room 3 on her long day shift of September 30. She says she has "some memory" of that day, "but not great detail".
She denies doing anything to cause either of Child I's events that day.
She says at 7.30pm, during the handover, she was giving the handover when Child I became apnoeic. Neopuffing was given, and it was noticed the abdomen was distended.
An NG Tube was inserted and air was aspirated.
Letby reads her notes from that day, including a note that Child I's mum noted the abdomen seemed more distended than yesterday, and Child I had an ongoing low temperature. For the abdomen, it was 'soft to touch', and the bowels had been opened.
The 1500 Drs review noted Child I's abdomen was distended, and she appeared 'mottled in colour'. Letby said she asked for the review upon seeing Child I's mottled appearance.
At 1600 Child I was fed, and at 1630 Child I had a large vomit and desaturation, and Drs were crash called, and Child I was transferred to room 1.
Letby said for the 4.30pm event, she was not at Child I's cotside, but was in the room.
She says: "She had vomited and I went over to her, and needed Neopuffing, briefly."
Child I was placed on an incubator, a cannula was inserted but tissued. 'Colour appears pale but improved'. There had been no further vomits, the abdomen still appeared distended.
Child I had 'self correcting desaturations to 80s', which Letby says was not a case when the alarm would be needed. "You have to give the baby time - to see if they self correct, which most babies do...in 30 seconds to a minute."
In this case, Letby says, Child I was self-recovering without the need for help.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

2:58pm

Letby says she could not say, definitively, whether Child I's mum had left at the time of handover.
Letby's notes add: 'At 1930 [Child I] became apnoeic, - abdomen distended++ and firm. Bradycardia and desaturation followed, SHO in attendance and registrar crash called....'Air++ aspirated'.
Letby says the air was aspirated after the Neopuff device was used.
Brenda [my note this s/b Bernadette] Butterworth's nursing note: 'During handover [Child I] abdo had become more distended and hard she had become apnoeic and bradycardiac and sats had dropped. IPPV given and despite a good seal with Neopuff there was still no chest movement, aspirated NGT air +++ and 2mls of milk obtained, eventually got chest movement and sats and heart rate normalised...'
Letby says she recalls Child I recovered well afterwards.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

3:02pm

Text messages are shown to the court from Jennifer Jones-Key to Lucy Letby, in which she complains a colleague had repeatedly, in the unit, commended Letby for her ability to swap shifts. Letby had replied in the messages, saying it was nice to hear as there had been some 'not so positive' comments about her. Letby added everyone is 'tired' on the unit.
Letby tells the court the 'not so positive comments' referred to her being on room 1 shifts when others had felt they needed the experience in room 1. She agrees with Mr Myers everyone had been busy on the unit.

3:07pm

The messages shown to the court -
JJK: Oh it's just [colleague] annoyed everybody last night as she was going on about how amazing you were doing so many swaps and how naughty you weren't taken off today x
LL: Oh was she? Kinda nice to hear something positive tho as been a few not so nice comments X
JJK: It wasn't for us and [expletive deleted] people off. I've done loads of swaps and extras. It was more the fifth time she said it!!! Why won't not nice comments x
LL: Everyone pulling their weight. I think she's just sticking up for me as knows I've had some rubbish said about me w
JJK: No she just sticking up for her friends and winding everybody else up. Shldnt of said anything x
LL: I can't speak for [colleague] & I wasn't there. We've all been working hard. X
LL: That's half the problem, everyone tired x

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, Monday, May 15 - 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, is…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk