'Oh no, not again', thought nurse who saw baby deteriorate the night after her brother died, Lucy Letby trial hears
24 October 2022, 19:32
A nurse who saw a baby girl deteriorate quickly, the night after her brother died, thought to herself 'oh no, not again,' the jury in the Lucy Letby trial heard.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The nurse was looking after the baby, known only as Child B, the night after her twin brother Child A had died, having developed similar blotchy skin at the Countess of Chester hospital.
The prosecution alleges nurse Lucy Letby, 32, injected air into the bloodstream of both Child A and Child B on June 8 and June 9, 2015. Letby is charged with the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of ten more. She denies all 22 charges against her.
Speaking at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, a nursing colleague of Letby told how she was preparing medicines when the monitor alarm sounded at Child B's incubator.
The nurse, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said Letby was the first to go to the cot and she called her for help.
Asked about Child B's appearance, she said: "She looked very ill. She looked very like her brother did the night before. Pale, white, with this purple blotchy discolouration. It was all over her body.
"I just remember thinking 'not again' - to see his sister with the same appearance."
A breathing tube was inserted and Child B "started to stabilise quite quickly", said the witness giving evidence screened from the public gallery and the defendant.
Nurse accused of murdering seven babies wrote ‘I am evil I did this’, court told
The nurse went on: "(Child A's) deterioration was very sudden and to an unusual degree. Babies can be very poorly quickly but there is usually some indication that is happening. We had no undue concerns.
"To go from that is very unusual and then (Child B) had been good throughout the evening for me ... then she became ill very quickly. She deteriorated very quickly and then this discolouration.
"You never want any baby to die. You want to help them go home to their families. That's always been my goal."
The nurse said she was a "mentor" to Letby, who first came to the unit as a trainee around 2010/11 while studying at the University of Chester.
She said they became "good friends", as Letby went on to join the unit after she qualified.
Defending Letby, Mr Myers KC said: "We know the allegations but your experience when working with her was she was highly professional?
The nurse said: "Yes."
Mr Myers said: "And dedicated to the work she was doing?"
"Yes," agreed the witness.
