A former nursing chief who was accused of refusing to take away Lucy Letby from a neonatal unit regardless of employees issues has mentioned she was unable to as a result of she “needed more information”.
Karen Rees had been the pinnacle of nursing on the Countess of Chester Hospital’s pressing care division earlier than retiring in March 2018.
Her function included overseeing the neonatal unit the place Letby murdered seven infants and tried to homicide six others between June 2015 and June 2016.
During Letby’s trial at Manchester Crown Court, the jury had been instructed how the neonatal nurse tried to kill a child by injecting him with air throughout a day shift on Saturday 25 June 2016.
Senior paediatrician Dr Stephen Brearey instructed the court docket that the day earlier than that incident he instructed Ms Rees that he and his colleagues had been “not happy” with Letby due to the variety of child deaths and collapses throughout her shifts.
In a press release given to Sky News Ms Rees has now mentioned she wasn’t given sufficient data to justify eradicating Letby from her duties.
The former nursing chief says Karen Townsend, the director of pressing care on the hospital, and Ravi Jayaram, a advisor who was the scientific lead for neonates and paediatrics, instructed her throughout a common assessment assembly that there have been issues about Letby’s scientific practices.
Ms Rees says she was instructed at this stage that senior paediatrician Dr Stephen Brearey thought Letby ought to be faraway from the neonatal unit.
The retired nursing chief says in her assertion: “I immediately went to find Ravi Jayaram and Stephen Brearey in order to obtain more information about the allegations that had been made. I went straightaway as it was a Friday afternoon, and I was conscious that staff would be going home for the weekend. I wanted to find out what the concerns were.”
She provides that she went to the workplace the 2 males shared however Dr Brearey wasn’t there.
Ms Rees continues: “Ravi wouldn’t give me any information to explain why Lucy Letby should be removed from the unit. He said nothing about air embolus, or over-feeding. He did not even mention babies dying and Lucy Letby being present. He just asked for Lucy Letby to be removed from the NNU (neo-natal unit).”
Ms Rees says she felt she “urgently” wanted to talk with Mr Brearey about issues round Letby.
She added that after she acquired maintain of him, she defined to the senior paediatrician that she wanted extra data earlier than she might take away a nurse from the neo-natal unit.
Read extra:
Letby’s refusal to seem in court docket sparks requires regulation change
Killer’s ‘genuinely felt disgrace wasn’t sufficient to cease murders’
Letby hospital bosses ‘did not permit investigators to see scientific notes’
Ms Rees says in her assertion: “Stephen Brearey was measured throughout… I said that if there were issues, then I needed to know what they were.
“Despite that, he refused to provide me any extra data. He mentioned that he had proof, however he refused to indicate it to me.”
Ms Rees says she still doesn’t understand why Dr Brearey wouldn’t provide her with more information.
“At no level did he say that he suspected she had been purposely harming infants. If he had mentioned that there had been 16 deaths, and that she was current for all of them, then my actions could nicely have differed.
“If Stephen Brearey had given me whatever evidence he said he had, that may have meant that a further death could potentially have been prevented,” she provides in her assertion.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
It has additionally been claimed Dr Brearey had requested Ms Rees if she could be pleased if “something happened to any of the babies tomorrow?”.
The retired nursing chief is alleged to have mentioned “yes”.
Ms Rees says in her assertion that the declare is “completely untrue” and an “outrageous allegation to make”.
She provides that she is “currently taking legal advice about the untrue allegations”.
What did Dr Brearey declare in court docket?
Ms Rees’ assertion straight contradicts the allegations made by Dr Brearey, who mentioned throughout Letby’s trial: “She (Ms Rees) was familiar with our concerns already. I explained what had happened and I didn’t want nurse Letby to come back to work the following day or until this was all investigated properly.
“Karen Rees mentioned ‘no’ to that and that there was no proof.
“I put it to her – was she happy to take responsibility for this decision, in view of the fact that myself and my consultant colleagues all wouldn’t be happy with nurse Letby going to work the following day?
“She responded she was pleased to take that accountability.”
Sky News has contacted Dr Brearey and Mr Jayaram for remark.
Source: information.sky.com”