Senior paediatrician John Gibbs calls the Thirlwall Inquiry report on Lucy Letby “grim reading” and says consultants should have escalated suspicions to police earlier.
Dr John Gibbs, a former consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital, described the 822‑page Thirlwall Inquiry report as "grim reading" and said he wishes consultants had been brave enough to follow their suspicions and alert police sooner. He accepted collective responsibility for the failings identified.
The inquiry, launched after Letby’s 2023 conviction, concluded there was a "complete failure to protect babies" on the neonatal unit. It found police should have been notified earlier and that hospital managers repeatedly dismissed consultants’ concerns, missing multiple opportunities to intervene.
Gibbs, who retired after starting at the hospital in 1994, highlighted specific lapses such as a doctor ignoring blood‑test results that suggested insulin poisoning in August 2015 and noted a tense atmosphere after Letby was moved off the unit. He said online misinformation about Letby’s guilt is "frustrating and difficult" to hear, while the Criminal Cases Review Commission continues to review her convictions.
The report called for urgent reforms, including CCTV for all cots and incubators and tighter insulin controls; Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said officials will develop plans to introduce live‑streaming cameras on England’s baby wards. The available reporting does not detail how these reforms will be enacted.