Nurse held again over deaths of sick babies

A NURSE was yesterday re-arrested on suspicion of murdering eight premature babies at an NHS hospital’s neonatal unit.

Lucy Letby, 29, was also being quizzed in connection with the attempted murders of a further nine infants treated at the Countess Of Chester Hospital, police said.

The paediatric nurse was first arrested last July on suspicion of murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of six others. Yesterday her semi-detached home in the Blacon suburb of Chester was cordoned off for a second time and a blue forensic tent erected in the front garden as officers searched it again.

Cheshire police said they had re-arrested the graduate, pictured, based on further evidence and in connection with the attempted murders of three more babies.

Officers were originally called in when a report highlighted an unusually high number of deaths on the Cheshire hospital’s premature baby unit. Consultants had noticed a ‘sudden mottling’ on the arms, legs and chests of premature or sick babies who unexpectedly deteriorated and had to be resuscitated, and noted ‘ similarities’ with babies who died.

Detectives said they had widened their investigation to cover the deaths of 17 babies, plus 16 cases which they referred to as non-fatal collapses – where the baby’s breathing or heart rate suddenly deteriorated and needed medical intervention to survive – between March 2015 and July 2016.

Five years ago, Miss Letby was chosen as the face of a campaign to raise £3million for the unit. At the time, she said: ‘I enjoy seeing [the babies] progress and supporting their families.’ Miss Letby, originally from Hereford, has been on bail since July. She had worked at the unit as a student nurse during three years of training before qualifying as a children’s nurse in 2011 and taking up a post full-time.

Detective Inspector Paul Hughes said parents of all the babies were being kept updated. He added: ‘We are doing everything we can as quickly as we can to identify what has led to these baby deaths and collapses.’

Susan Gilby, chief executive of the Countess Of Chester Hospital, said: ‘We are cooperating fully with the investigation.’