UK - Nurse Lucy Letby, Faces 22 Charges - 7 Murder/15 Attempted Murder of Babies #23

[Tortoise]

2:34pm

Mr Johnson talks about the 7.30pm event for Child I.
Letby's notes add: 'At 1930 [Child I] became apnoeic, - abdomen distended++ and firm. Bradycardia and desaturation followed, SHO in attendance and registrar crash called....'Air++ aspirated from NG Tube...[Child I] is now very pale and quiet'.
Letby denies forcing air into Child I.

2:37pm

Observations for Child I in the remainder of September 30 are shown to the court.
Bernadette Butterworth's nursing note: 'During handover [Child I] abdo had become more distended and hard she had become apnoeic and bradycardiac and sats had dropped. IPPV given and despite a good seal with Neopuff there was still no chest movement, aspirated NGT air +++ and 2mls of milk obtained, eventually got chest movement and sats and heart rate normalised...'

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - cross-examination continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

14:38

Child I's stomach was so swollen her diaphragm had splintered​

Child I's stomach was so swollen her diaphragm had splintered, according to medical notes shown to the court.
"You had pumped her with air or milk, hadn't you?" Nick Johnson, the prosecution barrister, asks.
"No," says Letby.
"Were you excited by what you did?" Mr Johnson asks,
"No, I fed [Child I] a normal tube feed," Letby replies.
Mr Johnson says Letby forced a lot of air into Child I, which is why "a lot of air came out when she collapsed".
"I do not agree," Letby says.
After Letby left for the night, Mr Johnson says "Child I improved". Her heart rate came down, and the temperature in the incubator came down.

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[Tortoise]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
3m

Nick Johnson KC: You forced air into the nasogastric tube of baby I didn’t you?
Lucy Letby: No I did not
NJKC: And that is the reason why a lot of air came out after she collapsed for the second time on this shift.
LL: No, I do not agree.

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
11s

We're now moving to the second incident involving Child I on 12 October 2015

 

[Tortoise]

2:50pm

Mr Johnson talks about the second event for Child I, which was on the night of October 12-13, when Letby said she was standing in the doorway when she could see Child I looked pale, and the lights were turned up.
Letby says the lighting was on in that room so Child I could be seen prior to the lights being turned up.
Letby is asked to look at her defence statement. She recalls Ashleigh Hudson was "quite inexperienced" to be looking after Child I.
Letby said Child I required "very close monitoring", and adds that, "looking back", Ashleigh had stopped monitoring her when she should have been.
Asked to explain where that instruction to monitor Child I came from, Letby says it was policy that Child I should have been monitored as she had come off antibiotics some time in the previous 48 hours.
Letby adds: "I'm not saying Ashleigh made a mistake."
The judge seeks clarification on 'monitoring'. Letby says it includes monitoring observations if a baby is on a monitor, but otherwise involves keeping an eye, regularly, on the baby.

2:57pm

Mr Johnson says there had been at least 48 hours since Child I had gone off antibiotics before the event occurred.
Letby is asked in what way Ashleigh Hudson was inexperienced.
LL: "I don't think Ashleigh had a lot of experience in recognising changes in babies, potentially."
Letby says the more experience you have, the more you can detect changes, such as changes in colour, in a baby.
Letby tells the court she does not recall a reason why she went into room 2 with Ashleigh Hudson.
In her defence statement, Letby said as they entered the room, they turned the light up on the light dimmer switch, and she saw Child I looking pale, and they went to assist. Child I was "gasping" and the alarm had not gone off.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - cross-examination continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

14:50

Letby was 'standing in the doorway' when she spotted Child I looked pale​

Prosecuting, Nick Johnson is now moving on to the second incident involving Child I. (It is claimed Letby tried to kill this child four times before she succeeded.)
This incident took place on the night shift of the 12th into the 13th October 2015.
Letby agrees she was "standing in the doorway when she noted Child I's colour, face and hands". She says the baby looked "pale".
She tells the court "a baby like [Child I] needs close monitoring" but her colleague had stopped monitoring her.
Letby says that "retrospectively, looking at the notes, she should have been on a monitor and this would have alerted" staff to her changes in condition sooner.
The judge then asks Letby to clarify if she means monitoring as in getting the general picture of Child I's condition, or if she is referring to an electric monitor.
Letby clarifies she means looking at the whole picture of Child I's condition

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Ms Letby tells the court that Ashleigh Hudson was her designated nurse, she says she was "quite inexperienced" to be looking after Child I. She said: 'I don’t think Ashleigh had a lot of experience identifying changes in babies potentially'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
51s

Ms Letby says that nurse Hudson 'wasn't doing monitoring when she should have been', she says children who have come off antibiotics need close obs for 48hrs after. Mr Johnson shows that 48hrs had already passed by this time

 

[Sundial]

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Ms Letby tells the court that Ashleigh Hudson was her designated nurse, she says she was "quite inexperienced" to be looking after Child I. She said: 'I don’t think Ashleigh had a lot of experience identifying changes in babies potentially'

Dan O'Donoghue
@MrDanDonoghue
·
51s

Ms Letby says that nurse Hudson 'wasn't doing monitoring when she should have been', she says children who have come off antibiotics need close obs for 48hrs after. Mr Johnson shows that 48hrs had already passed by this time

Another colleague added to “the gang” membership growing steadily.
Moo

 

[Blondiexoxo]

I remember thinking that any H was one of the weakest cases, after today I think H & I are two of the strongest cases we’ve heard so far IMO.

Now we have Ashleigh Hudson thrown under the bus to join the rest of the unit, by the time we get to babies O P & Q there will be no one left to blame except maybe herself…

I’m finding today’s evidence for baby I very damning IMO, it’s also a case where even LL has to admit that baby I was fine and healthy until she arrived for that shift… then when she went home baby I stabilised once again.

There are coincidences in life and things happen that may at first glance appear suspicious. But usually when you look deeper you discover that it was entirely innocent and nothing nefarious. With LL we are looking deeper and still not finding anything IMO to show that these genuinely were ‘coincidences’.. the more we hear, the more suspicious it becomes. The more LL answers with ‘I can’t tell you why’ ‘I don’t recall’ ‘I don’t agree’ the less honest she comes across IMO.. How can she only not remember the events that make her look bad? Anything that goes in her favour she seems to remember very well. Surely that’s not a coincidence aswell?

MOO

 

[Tortoise]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
1m

Nick Johnson KC, on baby I's second collapse: "A short time beforehand, she had a full bottle, she was breathing for herself in air, and was demanding feeds. They were all good signs". Lucy Letby agrees.

 

[Tortoise]

3:07pm

Letby rules out staffing levels, medical incompetencies or staffing mistakes as a cause of Child I's desaturation on October 12-13.
A nursing shift rota is shown for October 12-13, with Lucy Letby in room 1, designated nurse for one baby. Ashleigh Hudson was designated nurse for three babies in room 2, including Child G and Child I.
Letby repeats there was no issue with staffing ratios to babies cared for, for that night.
Letby agrees with the evidence Ashleigh Hudson said that Child I was doing well - "prospering", and that the level of care had been scaled back.
Before the collapse, Child I was in air and on bottle feeds.
Letby says she has "no memory" if Ashleigh Hudson, as said in evidence, left room 2 to help colleague Laura Eagles in room 1.
Letby says she had a baby in room 1, and cannot recall who was to look after nursery 2.
In evidence, she said she was not the nurse called to room 2.
She tells she would have remembered having to hand over care of her baby and look after three babies in room 2.

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - cross-examination continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Mr Johnson is now focusing on an event on 13 Court has previously heard that nurse Hudson was Child I’s carer on the night-shift but she said she asked Letby or the nursing shift leader to keep an eye on the youngster as she was required to help a colleague

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

Nurse Hudson previously said that procedure took about 15 minutes and she then walked to a store room to collect Child I’s milk. On her return to nursery room 2 she started preparing the milk for a feed on a counter which faced the lit corridor, she said.

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
1m

She previously told the court that she remembers "Lucy standing in the doorway. She was leaning up against the frame. She pointed out from where she was that she thought (Child I) looked pale.” Ms Letby says there is 'nothing sinister' about her standing in the doorway

 

[Tortoise]

3m ago15:13

Baby was 'white and gasping for air'​

Letby tells the court the colleague who was meant to be monitoring Child I lacked experience.
"I don't think [colleague] had a lot of experience in recognising changes in babies," Letby tells the court.
Letby's defence statement is now being read to the court.
In it, she says: 'I could see she was white and gasping for air.'
Letby agrees this was correct.
Nick Johnson, prosecuting, is asking - as he has with all the babies - if staffing levels or incompetence contributed to the death of Child I.
Letby says: "No."

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[Tortoise]

3:17pm

Letby said "very quickly", she had noticed and saw Child I was pale.
Letby is asked why she was at room 2. She replies there was "nothing sinister" about that, that she had been in a chat with a colleague.
NJ: "The lights were off, weren't they?"
LL: "I can't say."
Letby is asked to look at her police interview.
In it, she says she had taken over Child I's care as Ashleigh Hudson had been "quite junior". For the observation of Child I, she replied the lights were off at night, and then they put the lights on, adding she could see Child I and: "I noticed that she was pale in the cot."
Letby, asked why she had told the jury the lights were "never off", says the lights are "never off completely", they are turned up.
A second police interview has Letby: "We put the light on - the lights aren't on in the nursery at night."
Asked why she did not refer to a dimmer switch in her police interview, Letby says: "I don't know."
NJ: "Are to trying to massage the evidence by [now] saying the lights were on low?"
LL: "No."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - cross-examination continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
5m

She says nurses often move around the unit, talking to each other, doing observations etc.

 

[Tortoise]

3:21pm

NJ: "What effect does going from a bright corridor [looking into] a [dark/dimly lit] room have?"
LL: "I don't know.
NJ: "You really don't know?"
LL: "No."
NJ: "Everybody knows, don't they?"
Letby says: "You wouldn't be able to see as well."
Mr Johnson says Letby was able to see "straight away" as she had caused Child I's deterioration.
LL: "No."

Recap: Lucy Letby trial, May 25 - cross-examination continues

The trial of Lucy Letby, who denies murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit and attempting to murder 10 more,…

www.chesterstandard.co.uk

 

[Tortoise]

2m ago15:23

'When a child collapses, you are there'​

The prosecution is continuing to try to pick holes in Lucy Letby's version of events.
The nurse had been supposed to be looking after children in a different room than Child I.
Letby has previously said she was stood in the doorway of nursery two with a colleague when she noticed Child I looked pale. She claimed the lights were turned off and they turned the lights on upon entering.
"A colleague said when she returned with milk for one of the children in her care, she was preparing it and you were standing in the doorway [of nursery two]," Mr Johnson says. "It was at that point you said, 'Don't you think Child I looks pale'."
"Yes," Letby replies.
He then asks Letby if she wasn't the person that had swapped into nursery two what was she doing in the doorway?
"I don't think there is anything sinister in that," Letby replies, adding that staff often walked around the unit and chatted to each other at night.
Mr Johnson replies: "Yet again when a child collapses you are the person there."
"I don't agree," says Letby.

Now15:25

Prosecution questions Letby's eyesight​

The prosecution is now questioning Letby over her claims she was able to spot that Child I was pale from the doorway of the nursery.
Letby says the lights in the corridor of the neonatal unit would have been on.
Nick Johnson, prosecuting: "If you go from a light corridor into a dark nursery does that make your eyesight very good?"
Letby: "I don't understand."
Mr Johnson: "Oh I think you do."
Mr Johnson: "What effect doesn't coming from a bright corridor into a dark nursery have?"
Letby: "I don't know."
Mr Johnson: "You really don't know? You are a nurse. Everybody knows."
Mr Johnson then says the reason Letby saw Child I straight away is because she "had caused what you purported to notice".
Letby: "No."

Lucy Letby trial: Facebook searches of nurse accused of murdering babies read out in court

Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, has been back in court for another day of cross-examination by the prosecution on Friday. She is accused of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, and denies all the charges.

news.sky.com

 

[Tortoise]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
2m

Lucy Letby says that on the occasion of baby I's 2nd collapse, she was at the door of the room when she noticed "very quickly" that the baby was very pale.

 

[Tortoise]

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
5m

Mr Johnson asks how quickly she noticed the baby was pale, Ms Letby says she 'can't put a definitive time, but quickly'. Mr Johnson asks how she got to the doorway of n2. Ms Letby says she can't recall, but gives various routes from nursing station or other nurseries

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
4m

Mr Johnson suggests all those routes involve going via the corridor, she agrees. Mr Johnson asks her if the corridor is lit, she agrees - he asks her 'what effect coming from a bright corridor into a dim room has on your eye sight'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
3m

Ms Letby says she does not know. But when pressed, says 'yes you wouldn’t be able to see as well'. Mr Johnson asks her how then she could see Child I was pale 'quickly'. He puts it to her that she saw because she had 'caused what you purported to notice'

Dan O'Donoghue

@MrDanDonoghue
·
3m

She rejects this. We're now on a break.

 

[Tortoise]

Judith Moritz

@JudithMoritz
·
3m

NJ: What effect does coming from a very bright corridor into a dark nursery have on your eyesight?
LL: I don’t know
NJ: You really don’t know?
LL: No
NJ: You're a nurse. Everybody knows don’t they?
LL: It'd depend on brightness of the light but you wouldn’t be able to see as well