Doctor Regrets Not Alerting Police Sooner on Baby Killer

Dr. Stephen Brearey, the former lead neonatal consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital, has voiced regret over not reporting Lucy Letby to the police earlier. He stated that he was naive to believe hospital managers would act on his concerns regarding the numerous infant deaths and attempted murders.

The hospital conducted internal reviews between 2015 and 2016 but did not involve Cheshire Police until May 2017. Dr. Brearey and his colleagues supported each other in raising alarms, but he now believes they should have escalated the matter to the police sooner.

He emphasized the lack of psychological support for staff during the period of suspected harm and after Letby's arrest, describing a situation where colleagues supported each other. Dr. Brearey noted that the Thirlwall Inquiry recommended a "duty of every manager to put patients first."

Lady Justice Thirlwall's report, published in September of an unspecified year relative to the inquiry's 2023 launch, detailed a "complete failure to protect babies" due to a lack of understanding regarding safeguarding when staff harm patients. It also cited dysfunctional management and a disconnect between leadership and clinicians.

Letby, who has consistently maintained her innocence, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others. An appeal against her convictions has been rejected. The timeline of events spans from June 2015, with the first murder of Child A, through multiple further attacks and concerns being raised, to Letby's arrest in July 2016 and her eventual conviction in August of an unspecified year, and subsequent sentencing.