Expert claims Countess of Chester Hospital 'would be shut down' in another country

Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another seven at the Countess of Chester Hospital. But an expert has claimed the hospital 'would be shut down' in Canada over the 'errors'

A Canadian neonatal expert has made a startling claim that the Countess of Chester Hospital would face closure if the alleged 'errors' he disclosed to journalists regarding the Lucy Letby case occurred in Canada. The retired medic, Dr Shoo Lee, was among 14 international experts who reviewed medical evidence presented during Letby's trial.

Lucy Letby, a 35 year old nurse from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life sentences for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of another seven. During a press briefing held today (February 4), Dr Lee revealed findings from a 'blue riband committee' that had investigated the case.

Contrary to the convictions, he declared that the expert group 'did not find murders' within the scrutinised evidence but rather identified instances of 'bad medical care' at the hospital which impacted the babies. Dr Lee, who co-authored a 1989 academic paper on air embolism in babiesa method Letby was accused of using on her young chargeswas forthright about his opinions on the Countess during the conference.

Speaking about the hospital, Dr Lee stated: "I would say if this was a hospital in Canada, it would be shut down. It would not be happening."

He further articulated: "Our conclusions of this panel therefore was that there was no medical evidence to support malfeasance causing death or injury in any of the 17 cases in the trial. Death or injury of all the affected infants were due either to natural causes or to errors in medical care."

Sir David Davis, the veteran Tory MP, opened the press conference by drawing attention to the challenges faced at the hospital in question: "There were serious problems related to medical care of patients at this hospital."

He went on to describe Letby's convictions as 'one of the major injustices of modern times'.

Dr Lee outlined a series of systemic issues that impacted patient care at the Countess. His list of concerns included incomplete treatments, oversight of medical histories, ignored infection warnings, babies being misdiagnosed and instances where staff attended to very ill infants without the necessary expertise

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Highlighting further issues, Dr Lee spoke about treatment delays for critically unwell infants, certain medical procedures performed poorly, inadequate supervision over junior medical staff, gaps in knowledge regarding basic procedures, mismanagement of common conditions, and unfamiliarity with vital equipment in the hospital unit.

Moreover, Dr Lee indicated that there was a shortage of medical staff, insufficient training, excessive workloads, and that some severely sick babies were in need of care at a more specialised facility or hospital. Following these revelations, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has received an application from Letby's lawyers for a review of her case, the CCRC being an entity that examines possible wrongful convictions.

The stance of the Countess regarding the Letby case remains unchanged. Previously, Dr Nigel Scawn, Medical Director at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, offered a heartfelt apology, stating: "We are extremely sorry that these awful crimes happened at our hospital."

"Since Lucy Letby worked at our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services and remain committed to providing high quality safe care to our local communities. We want to acknowledge the impact this continues to have on everyone involved in this case and restate our commitment to do everything we can to help families get the answers they deserve."

"We remain grateful for the unwavering cooperation and professionalism of our staff, some of whom returned to court to repeat evidence and relive events. We will continue to ensure our staff receive the care and support they need and we remain committed to fully and openly supporting the ongoing legal processes."