Medical records of more than 4,000 babies are being investigated
Lucy Letby, a 33 -year-old neonatal nurse in the United Kingdom, who has been found guilty of murdering seven babies, may have harmed more babies, police fear. A source told the Guardian that detectives have identified 30 babies who suffered “suspicious” incidents at the Countess of Chester hospital where she worked.
Police are also looking into the serial killer's time at Liverpool Women's Hospital where she was on training placement in 2012 and 2015. Cheshire Constabulary has asked experts to examine the medical records of more than 4,000 babies born at Liverpool Women's Hospital and the Countess of Chester between 2012 and 2015.
Det Supt Paul Hughes, who led Operation Hummingbird, the investigation into Letby, said his team would investigate the entire time the killer had access to neonatal units, Telegraph reported.
He said, “From 2012 through to 2016, there were more than 4,000 admissions of babies into the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women's Hospital for us to work through.
“This does not mean we are investigating all 4,000, it just means that we are committed to a thorough review of every admission from a medical perspective, to ensure that nothing is missed throughout the entirety of her employment as a nurse. Only those cases highlighted as concerning medically will be investigated further.”
The highlighted cases will then be sent to relevant hospitals to determine whether there may be an innocent explanation for the baby's sudden collapse. If harm cannot be ruled out, that baby's case will be examined in detail by medical experts.
Meanwhile, the parents of other children suspected of being harmed by Letby have been informed of the investigation, police said.
Notably, Lucy Letby was convicted of killing five boys and two girls, making her the UK's most prolific child serial killer in modern history. Letby was accused of injecting her young victims, who were either sick or born prematurely, with air, overfeeding their milk, and poisoning them with insulin.
She was arrested following a string of baby deaths at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwest England between June 2015 and June 2016.