By Tony O’Reilly-
The irresponsible senior NHS manager who allegedly ignored warnings over serial baby killer Lucy Letby has been suspended.
The nurse, now 33, murdered seven babies and attempted to kill another six. She is the worst child serial killer in modern Britain.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
Alison Kelly(pictured) was accused in court of failing to act when doctors raised “serious concerns” about the nurse during her tenure as director of nursing and quality at the Countess of Chester Hospital where Letby murdered seven babies.
Letby’s trial at Manchester Crown Court heard consultants raised concerns about the now establishes serial killer, but were told by hospital bosses to apologise to her formally in writing
Ms Kelly is now a director of nursing at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust in the Manchester area. Local politicians called for her position to be investigated by ministers.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
Doctors say they were met with silence from hospital bosses and regret not reporting her to the police sooner. In essence, complaining doctors also failed the multiple babies killed by Letby.
Letby’s murderous campaign against babies in her care is now to be the the subject of an independent inquiry, amid growing clamour for as explanation as to why she was not stopped sooner.
There were a significant rise in the number of babies suffering serious and unexpected collapses in the hospital’s neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016.
The Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit head consultant, Dr Stephen Brearey, first raised Letby’s association with an increase in baby collapses in June 2015.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “We welcome the independent inquiry announced by the Department of Health and Social Care into the events at the Countess of Chester and will cooperate fully to help ensure all lessons are learned.
“In light of information that has emerged during the trial of Lucy Letby, and the announcement of the independent inquiry, the Northern Care Alliance has suspended Alison Kelly.
It comes as NHS managers who are accused of ignoring repeated warnings that Letby posed a threat to babies face the possibility of losing their pensions if convicted of corporate manslaughter or criminal negligence.
Ms Kelly is the most senior nurse at the Salford and Rochdale organisations within the Northern Care Alliance in the North-West of England. It is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country and employs 20,000 staff.
It was more than eight years ago, in July 2015, when Ms Kelly was first told that Letby was the only nurse on shift when three babies died within two weeks of one another.
Letby would go on to murder four more babies following concerns first being raised with Ms Kelly, the first just one month after Ms Kelly received a report from lead consultant Dr Stephen Brearey.
Ms Kelly was contacted again in February 2016 by Dr Brearey who, as part of a review, found common links in nine deaths stretching back to mid-2015.
Executives only launched a formal investigation in July 2016. Although Letby was then removed from the unit, the police were not contacted until May 2017.
The nurse, now 33, murdered seven babies and attempted to kill another six. She is the worst child serial killer in modern Britain.
Reports over the weekend claim Letby may have harmed dozens more children while working in two hospitals in the North-West.
The website of the NHS’s Rochdale Care Organisation, where Ms Kelly is still listed as director of nursing as well as being down as the interim director of nursing at neighbouring Salford organisation, claims Ms Kelly “led on a number of improvement programmes of work” during her eight-year tenure at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Paul Bristow, a Tory MP and health select committee member, said: “Evidence from this dreadful trial seems to suggest that Ms Kelly was repeatedly made aware of the consultant’s concerns but these were not acted on promptly.
“This may have had disastrous consequences. There are many questions for Ms Kelly and others to answer at the subsequent independent inquiry.
“Families and clinicians could be forgiven for thinking Ms Kelly shouldn’t have similar responsibilities in Rochdale while these questions remain unanswered.”
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar