Dr John Gibbs, a consultant paediatrician who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital during Lucy Letby’s crimes in 2015-2016, told the BBC that the final report from Lady Justice Thirlwall’s inquiry is "grim reading." The report, published on Tuesday and spanning 822 pages, details the hospital's failure to protect babies and dismissals of consultants' concerns. Gibbs acknowledges his own responsibility in not escalating issues earlier and expresses regret for failing the victims and their families.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event.
- Published
One of the senior doctors who tried to raise concerns about Lucy Letby with hospital managers has told the BBC the final inquiry report makes for "grim reading".
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report → publish → reading
Consultant paediatrician Dr John Gibbs worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital throughout the period in 2015 to 2016 when Letby murdered seven babies, and attempted to murder seven more, on the neonatal unit.
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Letby → work → unit
He said that he accepted that consultants must bear "collective" responsibility for some of the failings identified in the report.
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consultants → say → report
"I wish we consultants had been brave enough to follow our suspicions and escalate things to the police earlier," he told the BBC.
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he → wish → BBC
"When I say, 'we consultants', I am responsible as well and if my other consultant colleagues didn't go to the police, I should have.
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I → say → police
The Thirlwall Inquiry was launched after former nurse Letby was convicted in 2023, and the final report was published on Tuesday.
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report → launch → Tuesday
In the 822-page document, Lady Justice Thirlwall described "a complete failure to protect babies on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital".
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Thirlwall → describe → Hospital
The report found that the police "should have been notified earlier than they were" and that hospital managers had repeatedly dismissed consultants' concerns.
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managers → find → concerns
Reflecting on the findings for the first time, Gibbs said: "I wasn't expecting it to be an easy read and it certainly isn't.
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it → reflect → time
I'd imagine it's an extremely difficult read for the parents of the babies concerned.
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it → imagine → babies
"As I admitted when I appeared before the inquiry to give evidence, I feel we failed the babies and I apologise to the families for that."
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I → admit → that
Gibbs, who began working in Chester in 1994 and is now retired, agreed with the report's finding that hospital executives had multiple opportunities to act and potentially save babies' lives while the deaths were happening.
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deaths → begin → lives
"But it was during that 11 months after Lucy Letby was moved off the unit, before the police got involved, that it was a very difficult atmosphere, very tense, very stressful dealing with the managers," he added.
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he → move → managers
Managers "were determined to ensure that we accepted Lucy Letby had been wrongly suspected of doing any harm," the senior doctor explained.
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doctor → determine → harm
He also spoke of the failures of his and his wider team, specifically referencing a doctor who disregarded blood test results that suggested a baby had been poisoned with insulin in August 2015.
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baby → speak → August
While one of his colleagues had missed the relevance of the results when they came back from the lab, it had been a collective team failure, Dr Gibbs concluded.
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Gibbs → miss → lab
"Others of us were on call and covering the neonatal unit over the next week or two before the baby moved out of the unit.
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baby → cover → unit
We all had the opportunity to review the notes.
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We → have → notes
Letby is serving 15 whole-life terms for the murders and has twice been denied permission to appeal against her convictions.
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Letby → serve → convictions
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body set up to examine potential miscarriages of justice, is currently reviewing her convictions.
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Commission → set → convictions
In the weeks and months after Letby was convicted, questions about the case arose in the form of online conspiracy theories and discourse from serious academics, including medical experts and statisticians.
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questions → convict → experts
Gibbs said that the continuing support for Letby had taken a toll on him and other consultants, and that claims she had been wrongly convicted were "frustrating and difficult" to hear.
"
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she → say → him
I particularly find the misinformation that's on the internet is difficult to deal with," he said.
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he → find → internet
He added: "I haven't changed my mind that I think Lucy Letby is guilty."
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Letby → add → mind
However, he emphasised that, because of the "calibre of some of the people who've raised concerns", it is "important" that the evidence used to convict Letby is being examined by the CCRC.
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evidence → emphasise → CCRC
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