Thirlwall Inquiry: Lawyers helping to give a voice to families

The public inquiry relating to the crimes committed by Lucy Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital has been hearing evidence from the families of babies murdered or harmed by Letby.

As a group actions lawyer specialising in medical negligence, I represent the family of Baby I, who was murdered by Letby in October 2015. 

The process of giving evidence

Having already sat through a lengthy criminal trial and hearing details of the horrific acts committed by Letby, the process of giving evidence to the Thirlwall Inquiry was not easy for my clients. However, they were determined to ensure their voice was heard. My colleagues and I supported them to ensure they could give their best evidence and assist the Inquiry with its investigations.

Over the course of several long and often emotional discussions, we prepared a detailed witness statement which was later sent to the Inquiry. This statement forms the basis of our clients’ evidence, and it was read to the Inquiry by the barrister we have instructed - Shahram Sharghy of 1 Crown Office Row - as our clients felt that giving ‘live’ evidence in person would have been too traumatic and distressing for them. 

The responsibility of those involved

My clients feel strongly that the senior management of the Trust should be held to account for the failure to carry out an effective and timely investigation. However, they also believe that all those involved, not just senior management, have a responsibility and are pleased to see that their concerns have been reported in some of the media coverage of their evidence.

A key theme that arose from the opening statements from several of the institutional core participants to the Inquiry was that of professional curiosity – that is, asking questions and investigating concerns fully and promptly. The Inquiry will make findings about the extent to which there were failings in this respect, although I believe it is already clear that more could have been done.

Deaths should have been investigated as ‘Serious Incidents’

One aspect of this is the extent to which the Countess of Chester investigated any of the baby deaths as ‘Serious Incidents’. This is a formal process that involves reporting to the Trust Board, and to NHS England. Counsel for NHS England (Jason Beer KC) said in opening that all the deaths should have been investigated as Serious Incidents, because they were unexpected and unexplained. This did not happen, and my experience as a medical negligence lawyer is that this sadly is not unusual, as I have dealt with many cases involving deaths or injury that were not investigated as Serious Incidents.

Conclusion: The need for change

This needs to change as lessons will not be learned if Serious Incidents are not recognised as such or properly investigated. This is a key area for improvement, and I look forward to seeing the recommendations from the Thirlwall Inquiry on this and other important issues in due course. It is also vital that any recommendations are accepted by the government and acted upon swiftly, which is a concern discussed by my colleague Catherine Slattery.

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in supporting and securing answers for families affected by care failings at our dedicated medical negligence claims section.

Child I's mother said: "I believe the doctors and nursing staff should have acted earlier."”