Lucy Letby sent a ‘melodramatic’ letter to hospital doctors complaining that they had wrongly branded her the ‘angel of death’ and ‘orchestrated’ her removal from the neonatal unit.
The former nurse claimed she suffered ‘enormous’ damage and was left injured, upset and physically unwell by allegations she hurt babies.
She also insisted she was “completely innocent” and had nothing to do with the spike in unexpected deaths and collapses.
The letter was read out to consultants at the Countess of Chester Hospital at a key ’emotional’ meeting with senior managers in January 2017 – seven months after Letby was removed from frontline nursing and moved into an administrative role over their suspicions.
Medics were told that two separate investigations had found there was no misconduct by Letby, who had won her complaints procedure against the hospital and would be readmitted to the ward. The advisors were also instructed to apologize to her for the unrest they had caused.
Lucy Letby, 34, from Hereford, serves 15 life orders after being convicted of murdering seven babies
Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more at the Countess’ neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016
Chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital Tony Chambers is pictured with Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit in 2014
Several of them told the public inquiry that they were ‘stunned’ by chief executive Tony Chambers’ ‘dictatorial’ behavior during the meeting, which lasted just 37 minutes.
He and medical director Ian Harvey told the doctors in no uncertain terms that they were ‘drawing the line under the Lucy issue’ and that they had to accept it and move on.
In the letter, which was read out by Karen Rees, then director of nursing at the hospital’s emergency department, Letby wrote: ‘My life was turned upside down and then put on hold, when I was unexpectedly told in July 2016 that I was transferred from the unit after a period of annual leave.
“Members of your team have been heard making public comments such as ‘angel of death’, ‘killer of unity’, ‘cold and calculating’.
‘A member of the counseling team, when asked how they would feel if I committed suicide or if something happened to my elderly parents, replied: ‘I don’t care.’ No individual and certainly no parent should have to hear something as disturbing as this.
“I am completely innocent of all verbal allegations made against me and confirmed in my complaint report.
‘The damaging effect this has had on me, my family and possibly my future is enormous. Many months of worry, fear, secrecy and uncertainty have had a significant impact on my physical health, general wellbeing and self-confidence.
Letby’s crimes took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where she worked as a nurse
A general view of the Countess of Chester Hospital, where nurse Lucy Letby worked
‘I’m not the person I was before this started. Only now that there is light at the end of the tunnel do I feel like I can try to become the person I was before.’
Although Letby described the seven months she was away from the unit as “very traumatic”, she said she was “very passionate” about continuing her career at Chester, where she trained as a nurse, and was determined was to return to ‘where I belong.’
She also quoted from the conclusion of the labor complaint, which she filed after being transferred from the neonatal unit following the murder of two triplet brothers in successive shifts, which stated: ‘It is clear from the witness statements that your movement from the unit was orchestrated by consultants with no hard evidence to support this action.”
Dr. Sean Tighe, an anesthetist who is also the hospital’s British Medical Association (BMA) trade union representative, was asked to attend the meeting as a witness. He told the inquiry that he found Letby’s letter ‘completely inappropriate’.
“We were told that the meeting was to investigate the contents of the reports and investigate the possibility, and not to hear a twenty-minute melodramatic thesis from Letby himself,” he said.
Describing the behavior of Mr Chambers and other senior managers at the meeting, he added: ‘The tone was dictatorial, somewhat regimental, demanding that the board had made the decision, that it was final and that the paediatricians had to set a boundary draw under the and we would let Letby back to work and apologize to her for the derogatory comments.’
Dr. Tighe also revealed that bosses were also considering moving Letby to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Bosses had considered moving Letby to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool (pictured)
“I was actually concerned that if that happened, we still had a huge responsibility to prevent that,” Dr. Tighe said.
Alder Hey is one of Britain’s largest children’s hospitals, after Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Earlier this week the inquiry heard that Letby lobbied a doctor, with whom she had become close and who worked as a locum consultant at Alder Hey, to get her into the specialist hospital to view operations and clinics.
Ms Rees sent an approval letter to Alder Hey, giving Letby permission to visit, although the letter stated she was not allowed to have patient contact and must be supervised at all times.
Between March and April 2017, while still working in an administrative role at the Countess, she took part in a multidisciplinary team meeting on diabetes, a ‘roadshow’ on insulin – the substance she used to kill two babies – and an outpatient clinic with the married doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and known as Dr. YOU.
Prosecutors at Letby’s trial, who heard that the pair exchanged thousands of Facebook messages, met for meals and walks and went on a day trip to London together, described Dr. You as Letby’s friend.
But she denied having an affair or being in love with him.
Letby, formerly of Hereford, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further seven between June 2015 and June 2016.