Lucy Letby's colleagues told to apologise, remain silent

SHAH ALAM - Colleagues of child killer nurse Lucy Letby were forced to apologise to her after voicing concerns about her involvement in a string of mysterious deaths of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester, England.

When babies began dying and being injured under Letby's supervision, her colleagues wondered why these tragedies only occurred under her watch.

Dr Ravi Jayaram, one of Letby’s former colleagues at Countess of Chester Hospital, detailed the chronology and scenario of the case in an interview with ITV News in a viral video posted by a TikTok account named Truecrime.

Dr Jayaram has been a paediatrician since 1992. He works as a consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby murdered at least seven babies and attempted to murder at least six more.

"I'd never seen anything like this in my entire career. Initially, there was a sense of relief that Lucy was present, because she is quite skilled at dealing with crises and managing these situations.

"However, as time passed, we began to wonder if she was acting on purpose,” he said on Truecrime on TikTok.

Dr Jayaram stated that the incident was frightening and puzzling for himself and his colleagues at Countess of Chester Hospital.

"I don't think anybody has a rule-book for dealing with a situation where you suspect someone is causing deliberate harm to babies in your neonatal unit," he added on Truecrime on TikTok.

In June 2015 after three babies had died and one collapsed, Dr Jayaram and his colleagues met with the managers of Countess of Chester Hospital to inform them the presence of Letby during the time when the babies reportedly passed away and their suspicion of her being the culprit.

Two more babies died a few months later, in August 2015, and four more collapsed. By early 2016, three internal reviews of these incidents had been done, but no solution had been found.

"These babies had been completely stable until they suddenly deteriorated, which was inexplicable.

"So we did what we thought was right and attempted to escalate our concerns to the hospital's executive and senior management.

"We told them that we have a serious problem here; please help us figure it out, tell us what we need to do and please do something," Dr Jayaram explained on Truecrime on TikTok.

By April 2016, three more babies had nearly died, and by the following month, managers at Countess of Chester Hospital informed doctors that there was no evidence that Letby had injured those babies. Her working shift, however, was switched from night to day.

When two more babies died and two more collapsed in June 2016, consultants demanded a meeting with the hospital board, which included then-Medical Director Ian Harvey and Chief Executive Tony Chambers of Countess of Chester Hospital.

Dr Jayaram indicated that Tony Chambers was ignoring these incidents and trying to cover it up while blaming him, though he didn't say it openly at the time.

He also added that he and his colleagues had explored alternate solutions to this problem, such as installing CCTVs in the neonatal ward and having someone constantly monitor Letby.

"Then, we learned that Lucy had been transferred to the Risk and Governance Department, and she had been abruptly removed from the unit,” he added on Truecrime on TikTok.

When Letby was transferred to the Risk and Governance Department, there were no more incidences of babies dying and collapsing.

In Sept 2016, the hospital requested that the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health investigate the babies' deaths.

However, the investigation concluded that Letby was an eager, capable, and committed nurse with no suspicious background.

The report also said that the doctors' concerns and suspicions were based on their ‘gut feelings’.

Following the report, a meeting was convened on Jan 26, 2017 between the doctors and the hospital's executive and senior management. By the end of the discussion, they had shifted their blame from Letby to the doctors.

“They claimed that we had bullied Lucy and acted unprofessionally. They also read a letter from Lucy stating that she is returning to work and that we must deal with it. She is going to show us that she is an excellent nurse and not a murderer, as we have suspected her,” Dr Jayaram explained on Truecrime on TikTok.

He further alleged that his boss at the time, Chief Executive Tony Chambers finished the meeting by threatening him and his colleagues, though not explicitly, with consequences if they did not drop their suspicions regarding Letby.

Furthermore, they threatened that if their suspicions about Letby persisted, they would attract undesirable attention from the public and authorities. Indicating that the unit and hospital would be severely harmed, causing them to lose their employment and harm their reputation as doctors.

Following that meeting, Dr Jayaram and his colleagues were forced by the hospital's executive and senior management to write an apology letter to Letby.

Meanwhile, the doctors continued to express their dissatisfaction. However, Medical Director Ian Harvey stated that no definitive evidence had been found and that Letby would be returning to the neonatal unit.

Dr Jayaram further stated that Letby confronted him, asking if he was okay and happy to work with her again in the neonatal section.

“I was forced to answer, well, if the trust has determined that you are returning to work, yes, I will work with you. If we are on the same shift, I will work together with you. Because, no, I was not happy,” he explained on Truecrime on TikTok.

On April 27, 2017, the hospital's management finally permitted the doctors to speak with the police. Just six days away from Letby’s return to the unit. After another internal review failed to explain all of the babies’ deaths at Countess of Chester Hospital.

"To me, the fact that the police, after a mere 10 minutes of listening to us, realised that this was something they needed to get involved with speaks volumes."

“It's a terrible thing to say, but I honestly feel that four or five babies could be in school right now if the hospital's management had acted sooner,” Dr Jayaram said on Truecrime on TikTok.

On July 3, 2018, Letby was arrested by the police at her home and in Nov 2020, she was charged with eight counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.

Her trial ran from Oct 2022 to Aug 2023. She was found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more.