- Lucy Letby, 28, was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies on Tuesday
- The neonatal nurse is also suspected of attempting to kill another six
- Her arrest is part of a probe into the deaths of 17 babies at a Chester hospital
- Liverpool Women’s Hospital said it was also working with police in the probe
A neonatal nurse who was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill another six, is being investigated at a second hospital.
Lucy Letby, 28, was arrested on Tuesday as police investigate her connection to 17 babies’ deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital during 2015 and 2016.
Officials were seen searching her £180,000 home in Chester, with a blue tent erected outside. They also searched her parents’ home in Hereford.
Ms Letby’s arrest is part of a year-long probe into the death of the babies and 15 non-fatal collapses at the neonatal unit.
On Wednesday, Liverpool Women’s Hospital announced it was working with police in their investigation. Ms Letby completed a work placement at the hospital for extra training after graduating in 2011.
If the neonatal nurse is convicted of murdering eight babies, she would become Britain’s most prolific child killer.
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement: ‘A healthcare worker currently involved in a police investigation undertook placements at Liverpool Women’s during their training.
‘We are co-operating with police as part of their investigation which includes a routine review of patients cared for on our neonatal unit during the time of these placements.
‘There is currently no suggestion that any patients at Liverpool Women’s came to any harm in relation to this investigation.’
Ms Letby, who has been described as awkward but kind-hearted, began working at Chester Hospital after graduating from Chester University in 2011.
The 28-year-old has a clean record with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and was even the face of a campaign to raise £3 million for the unit.
At the time, she said: ‘I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families.’
Newly unearthed photos show Ms Letby letting loose on nights out, posing on a stripper’s pole, guzzling cocktails and making silly faces.
One friend of the Letby’s described Ms Letby as a ‘professional nurse’ who was dedicated to her ‘dream job’ and ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly’.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘We’re still reeling from it to be honest.
‘I knew her when she was a little girl and she was as sweet as anything. I’ve seen her grow up and she seemed a lovely woman.
‘So this is news is deeply and utterly shocking. I can’t fathom it.
‘When you hear of these sort of things, you always get one or two people saying ‘I thought there was something fishy about them’.
‘But with Lucy all you will hear is positive things.’
A shop worker at a store close the the family home said: ‘They pop in now and again and they are a very polite family. They all seem very friendly and normal.
‘Its shocking as its a nice area and we rarely see police around here.’
Letby was determined to take up nursing after leaving her comprehensive school in Hereford.
She was described as ‘geeky’ and always wanted to do good by helping out with charitable causes.
She was the face of a £2m appeal to build a new paediatric unit at the hospital in 2013.
Jordan Sands, who knew her through a former girlfriend, said: ‘She was quite awkward and geeky but seemed like a kind-hearted person.’
Another friend, who asked not to be named, described her as ‘an amazing person’.
Detective Inspector Paul Hughes, who is in charge of the investigation, described Ms Letby’s arrest as a ‘significant step forward’.
He revealed the scope of the probe had been widened since police took up the case and they are now examining the care of 32 babies, 17 of whom had died.
Ian Harvey, the hospital’s medical director, said that he is confident that the neonatal unit is now safe and is an equivalent to a level 1 special care baby unit.
Police were called in by the hospital last May after a damning 2016 report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health found staffing at the unit was inadequate.
Although the review could not find a reason for the increase in baby deaths between June 2015 and June 2016, it identified a string of concerns. These included significant gaps in medical and nursing rotas, insufficient senior doctor cover, poor decision making and a reluctance by some staff to seek advice from colleagues.
Two babies died on the unit in 2013 and three in 2014, but mortality rates jumped to eight deaths in 2015 and by June 2016, five babies had already died that year.
The increased mortality rate prompted the hospital to stop caring for babies born before 32 weeks and to close its three intensive care cots.
A source last night told the Mail that a member of staff at the hospital had been suspended around 12 months ago and that ‘everyone from cleaners to doctors’ had been interviewed by detectives.
An NHS source told the Times, Ms Letby was transferred from clinical duties in late 2016.
The source said: ‘They moved her into admin, they didn’t move her to another nursing position. If they did think she was suspicious why didn’t they suspend her’.
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