We Need To Talk About Lucy Letby

1. Background To The Case

There is a significant rise in the number of deaths on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the summer of 2015. Between June 2015 and June 2016 there were 17 deaths compared which a normal rate of around 3 deaths per year. In November 2020 nurse Lucy Letby is charged with murder in relation to seven of them, despite there being more feasible explanations for the deaths such as the frequent sewage problems, the reported ‘chaos’ on the ward and suspected medical negligence. And what about the other ten deaths?

We Need To Talk About Lucy Letby is a podcast series hosted by statistician Peter Elston and retired doctor Michael McConville. Lucy Letby was a neonatal nurse at The Countess of Chester Hospital in NW England who was convicted in August 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further six on seven occasions, though she was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder and verdicts could not be reached in another six. In this series, Peter and Michael discuss the many aspects of the case and the steps over more than ten years that led to Lucy ending up in HMP Bronzefield serving 14 full life terms. But could it be the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history?