FAMILIES of children named in the Lucy Letby trial have been named as having key roles in the forthcoming inquiry into the convicted serial killer nurse.

The Thirlwall Inquiry is due to take place from September 2024 in Chester. It will hear a range of evidence into how 33-year-old Letby, sentenced in August 2023 to whole-life orders for the murder of seven babies at the hospital and the attempted murder of six more, was able to commit her crimes and how the NHS dealt with the case.

Previously, among those who named as 'core participants' in the inquiry are former chief executive Tony Chambers, who left the hospital trust in 2018, former medical director Ian Harvey, who retired in August 2018, former director of nursing Alison Kelly, who was suspended by the Northern Care Alliance following the Letby trail verdicts in August, and former HR director Sue Hodkinson.

Additional core participants have now been listed as the 13 'families of children named on the indictment'. A court order remains in place prohibiting the identity of those babies being published.

Organisations listed as core participants for the Thirlwall Inquiry are the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Department for Health and Social Care, the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS England.

Letby was formally struck off the nursing register after an NMC hearing last month. The former neonatal nurse, originally from Hereford, did not attend the hearing. The panel heard Letby was aware of the hearing, did not contest the bid to remove her as a nurse, but said she maintained her innocence in respect of the convictions.

An appeal against those convictions was also formally lodged. That process is expected to be concluded before a retrial is to be heard on one count of attempted murder the original trial jury were unable to reach a verdict on. That retrial is listed for June in Manchester Crown Court and is expected to last three weeks.

The Thirlwall Inquiry, led by Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall, is also seeking information for the inquiry from the following organisations:

  • Countess of Chester Hospital
  • Cheshire Police
  • Liverpool Women's Hospital
  • Facere Melius
  • Merseyside and Cheshire ICB
  • NHS England
  • NHS Resolution
  • Care Quality Commission (CQC)
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
  • General Medical Council (GMC)
  • Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
  • Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
  • National Neo-Natal Research Database
  • NHS Ombudsman
  • Health Services Safety Investigations Body
  • Patient Safety Commissioner
  • MBBRACE-UK
  • Senior Coroner for Cheshire
  • Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA)
  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
  • Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)
  • National Child Mortality Database
  • Healthwatch England
  • Healthwatch Cheshire West
  • PICANet
  • British Medical Association (BMA)
  • Sands
  • BLISS
  • Tommy's
  • Spoons
  • National Guardian's Office
  • Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman