Reflections on the Letby case
Following Lucy Letby’s sentence of life in prison for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six, we are not alone in feeling incredibly saddened by this case. Our thoughts are with the families who lost their babies, and whose babies were hurt after placing their faith in our national health service.
The crimes committed are appalling and extremely difficult to comprehend. While it is extraordinarily rare that people commit these sorts of crimes, the media reports from the trial have given us a lot to reflect on – particularly in responding to concerns raised by staff, patients and their families. As more facts emerge from the independent inquiry, we will look to learn from this terribly sad situation.
We owe it to our patients, their families and each other to foster a culture of honesty, openness and transparency. We are confident that our colleagues at Barts Health show incredible professionalism and provide a high standard of care to patients with often very complex needs.
Speak up with confidence
We are proud of the care we provide, but we know things don’t always go right. We are committed to learning from these experiences and encourage staff, patients and families to report any concerns they have.
We want you to have a good experience when you are in our care. We welcome feedback if you feel that the service you have received has not lived up to our high standards.
If you have any concerns, we ask that you speak to the staff at your clinic, department or ward, or our Patient Advice and Liaison Service, where our teams will treat issues sensitively and work to resolve them. You may also make a formal complaint here.
We’d encourage you to use one of these routes to raise any concerns or reflections.
Shane DeGaris, group chief executive
Caroline Alexander, group chief nursing officer
Dr Magda Smith, group deputy medical director
Daniel Waldron, group director of people