Doctor who raised concerns about Lucy Letby harming babies says he should have gone to police earlier

A doctor who voiced suspicions about convicted killer Lucy Letby harming babies has said he should have gone to the police sooner. Dr Stephen Brearey, speaking for the first time since the publication of the Thirlwall Inquiry report into events at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire, said he was naive to believe hospital managers would act on his concerns. He was the lead neonatal consultant at the hospital when Letby murdered seven babies and attempted to murder others. Dr Brearey told the inquiry his warnings about Letby were repeatedly ignored. He also said there was a 'toxic negativity' within the NHS and called for a change in the culture around raising concerns. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: 'I was naively thinking that raising concerns with senior managers, they had the same values that I did and, once they got it, they would be thinking the same way.' The hospital carried out a series of internal reviews into a rise in baby deaths in 2015 and 2016 but did not call in Cheshire Police until May 2017. Dr Brearey said he and other consultants supported each other in raising the alarm over Letby. Dr Stephen Brearey says he should have gone to police sooner with concerns about Lucy Letby Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others while working at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016But he added: 'In retrospect, clearly, if we'd known what was ahead of us, we would have gone to the police earlier'. He said there was no psychological support for staff at the time or when Letby was arrested, telling the programme: 'It really was the team looking after the team and colleagues looking after colleagues. 'It's a bit akin to a soldier in a battle with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] being taken out of the battle zone to recover and yet the staff on the neonatal unit were still coming back to work and being retraumatised. 'If they had to stabilise a sick baby, you can understand the triggers that might elicit, and the personal costs to staff who are parents dropping the kids off to school and not wanting to talk to other parents.' Dr Brearey told of how Lady Thirlwall had recommended 'the uncontroversial duty of every manager to put patients first'. He added: 'It feels a bit of a sad indictment on the organisation when that has to be written down into the contracts of senior managers. 'It's one thing writing into a contract - another thing actually enacting it into the entire organisation, and that takes a cultural change and cultural changes take time and I very much hope that the NHS and the Department of Health can make that turnaround effectively. 'But it doesn't feel like something that's going to happen overnight to me, certainly, no.' The Thirlwall Inquiry was launched in 2023 after the former nurse's multiple convictions for murder and attempted murder of infants. Publishing her final 822-page report in September, Lady Justice Thirlwall said: 'There was a complete failure to protect babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital. 'This was because no-one seems to have understood that safeguarding action is required when a member of staff is suspected of causing deliberate harm and does not require colleagues to be sure of guilt. 'My report describes dysfunctional management and governance, a gulf between hospital leadership and clinicians, and failure to understand the fundamentals of safeguarding.' The inquiry made 17 recommendations, including installing CCTV for all cots and incubators in neonatal units, restricted access to insulin, mandatory safeguarding training for staff, and an improved NHS IT system and data handling.Brearey said had those measures already been in place: 'It certainly would have either prevented or hastened an alarm to say things need to be looked at in more detail.'I think all the suggestions are very sensible and if they are all enacted then they'll go a long way towards preventing further incidents on neonatal units and elsewhere in hospitals.'Following the conclusion of the inquiry, the hospital trust said: 'We know that no apology or action can undo what happened at our hospital.'We are however truly sorry for the events that occurred in 2015 and 2016. We acknowledge the findings of the Thirlwall report and will approach its recommendations with openness and a firm commitment to build on the progress we have already made in improving our hospital's governance, safety and culture since that time.'We are a different organisation today with new leadership, stronger governance and safety processes, and a more open culture where speaking up is encouraged and acted upon.'Former Countess of Chester Hospital executives Tony Chambers, Ian Harvey and Alison Kelly, along with former HR director Sue Hodkinson, said in a joint statement: 'We are carefully reviewing the Thirlwall report and its recommendations.'Given that there are a number of investigations under way, and that the work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission has not yet completed, it would be inappropriate for us to offer any further comment at this time.'Our thoughts remain with the families affected by the tragic events that took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital.'Letby has always maintained her innocence. Appeals against her convictions have been rejected by the courts. READ MORE: A 'dictatorial' boss, blind loyalty to Letby and grieving mums misled... the failings in fullREAD MORE: It's ludicrous to have had this two-year, £18m inquiry into Lucy Letby when it looks increasingly likely there weren't any murders at all: PETER HITCHENS READ MORE: I sat through the entire ten-month Lucy Letby trial. For all the armchair warriors defending her, here's proof from the Thirlwall Inquiry that she's guilty as hell