Lucy Letby inquiry told poorly performing NHS managers should be ‘disqualified’

Child killer Lucy Letby is currently serving 15 whole-life orders
-Credit: (Image: PA Media)


Senior NHS managers should be disqualified if they are found unsuitable to carry out their roles, the inquiry over the crimes of child killer nurse Lucy Letby has heard. Sir Robert Francis KC made the case for tougher regulation of senior NHS managers at the Thirlwall Inquiry, saying there was currently no regulator “with teeth” to impose sanctions on poorly performing non-clinical directors

Giving evidence today, Monday, September 30, the chairman of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust public inquiry said: “If a doctor is not thought to be fit and proper then the General Medical Council will investigate and if it sees fit it refers a case to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, an independent adjudicator, who decides on the fitness of that person to continue in practice.

“There is no equivalent for non-clinical managers and I think there should be. The absence of that means there is no fair process for deciding these things and of course in all these cases there can be two sides to the story and you need a place where those issues can be resolved."

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He continued: "The result I’m afraid is that people who haven’t done terribly well one way or the other may leave one job and you will then find they pop up in another because there is no overall certification as to whether someone is a fit and proper person at any given time to do these roles.

"So I am in favour of there being a system of regulation that at least has that element to do it. I think there ought to be a means of disqualifying someone from being a chief officer or a senior director of an NHS organisation."

In his written evidence to inquiry chair Lady Justice Thirlwall, Sir Robert said: "Effective external scrutiny depends on action and intervention either by NHS England or the Care Quality Commission. Neither is fully equipped to do this task, and as a result there is a risk that unsuitable directors remain in post or are permitted to apply for similar posts elsewhere. I consider that some form of more direct regulation is now required."

Sir Robert’s inquiry into care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust – published in 2013 – uncovered the neglect of hundreds of patients at Stafford Hospital between 2005 and 2009 and made sweeping recommendations for change. Some families have told Lady Justice Thirlwall they feel senior management at the Countess of Chester Hospital were “complicit” in Letby’s attack spree in 2015 and 2016 and also accused them of “facilitating a murder” by ignoring concerns raised by consultants.

Nevertheless, it has been asserted by senior hospital officials that they only became aware of allegations against Letby harming infants in the neonatal unit in late June 2016. Following these suspicions, Letby was reassigned away from patient care within weeks, yet it was not until May 2017 that the police were notified by the hospital.

Letby, 34, from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders following her conviction at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven infants and attempted murder of seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016. The inquiry is set to take place at Liverpool Town Hall until early next year, with the findings anticipated to be published by late autumn 2025.