ONE of the Countess of Chester Hospital bosses has commented following the conviction of one of its former employees, serial baby killer Lucy Letby.

Letby was found guilty at Manchester Crown Court on Friday of murdering seven babies at the hospital's neonatal unit, as well as seven counts of attempting to murder six more, between June 2015 and June 2016.

Now the hospital's executive medical director, Dr Nigel Scawn, has issued a statement following the verdicts.

He said: "I speak for the whole Trust when I say how deeply saddened and appalled we are at Lucy Letby’s crimes.

"We are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of the babies who came to harm or died. We cannot begin to understand what they have been through.

"This case has had a profound impact on our patients and our local community and also our staff - who come to work every day determined to provide safe and high-quality care for our patients.

"Our staff are devastated by what happened and we are committed to ensuring lessons continue to be learnt.

"We are grateful for the co-operation of our staff, especially those who have maintained the utmost professionalism whilst giving evidence in the trial, sometimes on multiple occasions. We will continue to support them and other staff to ensure they receive the care and support they need.

"We would like to extend our thanks to Cheshire Police for their extensive investigation and the work they did to bring this case to trial. We’d also like to thank them for the comprehensive support they have provided to all of the families.

"Since Lucy Letby worked at our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services. I want to provide reassurance that every patient who accesses our services can have confidence in the care they will receive.

"And, most importantly, our thoughts are with all the families and loved ones at this very difficult time."

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: "Lucy Letby committed appalling crimes that were a terrible betrayal of the trust placed in her and our thoughts are with the families affected, who have experienced pain and suffering that few of us can imagine.  

“Colleagues within the nursing profession and across the health service have been shocked and sickened to learn what she did, actions beyond belief to the nurses and staff working so hard to save lives and care for patients.  

“On behalf of all of us I would like to express our profound apologies to the families for all they have been through.

“The NHS is fully committed to doing everything we can to prevent anything like this ever happening again, and we welcome the independent inquiry announced by the Department of Health and Social Care to help ensure we learn every possible lesson from this awful case.” 

The Department of Health said the inquiry will investigate the wider circumstances around what happened at the hospital, including the handling of concerns and governance, and will also look at what actions were taken by regulators and the wider NHS.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: ”I would like to send my deepest sympathy to all the parents and families impacted by this horrendous case.

“This inquiry will seek to ensure the parents and families impacted get the answers they need. I am determined their voices are heard, and they are involved in shaping the scope of the inquiry should they wish to do so.

“Following on from the work already underway by NHS England, it will help us identify where and how patient safety standards failed to be met and ensure mothers and their partners rightly have faith in our healthcare system.”