Lucy Letby sent a “melodramatic” letter to hospital doctors complaining they had wrongly branded her an “angel of death” and “orchestrated” her removal from the neonatal unit.
The former nurse claimed she had suffered “immense” harm and that allegations she was harming babies left her hurt, distraught and physically ill.
He also insisted he was “completely innocent” and had nothing to do with the rise in unexpected deaths and collapses.
The letter was read to consultants at the Countess of Chester Hospital during a key “emotional” meeting with senior managers in January 2017, seven months after Letby was removed from frontline nursing and taken on an administrative role due to her suspicions.
Doctors were told that two separate reviews had found no wrongdoing by Letby, who had won her grievance procedure against the hospital and would be reinstated in the unit. The consultants were also ordered to apologize to her for the upset they had caused.
Lucy Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies.
Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more in the Countess neonatal unit between June 2015 and June 2016.
Countess of Chester Hospital chief executive Tony Chambers is pictured with Camilla, the then Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit in 2014.
Several of them told the public inquiry they were “stunned” by chief executive Tony Chambers’ “dictatorial” behavior at the meeting, which lasted just 37 minutes.
He and medical director Ian Harvey told doctors, in no uncertain terms, that they were “drawing a line under Lucy’s problem” and that they should accept it and move on.
In the letter, which was read by Karen Rees, then director of nursing in the hospital’s urgent care division, Letby wrote: “My life was turned upside down and subsequently put on hold, when I was unexpectedly informed, in July 2016, I was transferred from the unit after a period of annual leave.
‘Members of his team have been heard publicly making comments such as “angel of death”, “unit killer”, “cold and calculating”.
‘It has been documented that one member of the consulting team, when asked how he would feel if I committed suicide or if something happened to my elderly parents, responded: “I don’t care.” No individual and certainly no parent should have to hear something as distressing as this.
‘I am completely innocent of all verbal allegations made against me, which has been confirmed in my complaints report.
‘The detrimental effect this has had on me, my family and potentially my future is immense. Many months of worry, anguish, secrecy and uncertainty have had a significant impact on my physical health, general well-being 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 used to work
‘I’m not the person I was before this started. Only now that there is some light at the end of the tunnel do I feel like I can start trying to become the person I was before.’
Although Letby described the seven months she had been away from the unit as “very traumatic”, she said she was “very passionate” about continuing her career in Chester, where she had trained as a nurse, and was determined to return to “where I I belong.’
She also cited the conclusion of the labor complaint, which she filed after she was removed from the neonatal unit following the murder of two triplet brothers on consecutive shifts, which stated: “It is clear from witness statements that her movement from the unit It was orchestrated by consultants without solid evidence to support this action.
Dr Sean Tighe, a consultant anesthetist who was also the hospital’s British Medical Association (BMA) union representative, was asked to attend the meeting as a witness. He told the inquiry he thought Letby’s letter was “completely inappropriate”.
“We had been told that the meeting was to explore the content of the reports and explore the possibility, not to listen to a melodramatic 20-minute lecture from Letby herself,” 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 paediatricians should draw a line under the the matter and we would accept Letby returning to work and apologize for the derogatory comments.
Dr Tighe also revealed 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 were to happen, we still had a big responsibility to prevent that from happening,” Dr. Tighe said.
Alder Hey is one of the largest children’s hospitals in Britain, behind London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Earlier this week, the inquest heard that Letby pressured a doctor, who she had become close to and who worked as a locum consultant at Alder Hey, to take her to the specialist hospital to observe operations and clinics.
Ms Rees sent an approval letter to Alder Hey, authorizing Letby to visit her, although the letter stipulated that she must have no contact with the patient and must be supervised at all times.
Between March and April 2017, while still working as an administrator at the Countess, she participated in a meeting of a multidisciplinary team on diabetes, a ‘roadshow’ on insulin (the substance she used to try to kill two babies) and an outpatient clinic with the married doctor, who cannot be named for legal reasons and who is known as Dr. U.
Prosecutors at Letby’s trial, who heard that the couple exchanged thousands of messages on Facebook, met for meals and walks and went on a day trip to London together, described Dr. U as Letby’s boyfriend.
But she denied having an affair or being in love with him.
Letby, a former Hereford resident, is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.
