Lucy Letby Case #41

[Futtrit]

12:35pm

Mr Myers says there were "failures by the neonatal unit", and he should have gone to a tertiary unit for investigation, and there was no examination by a consultant at an earlier stage, or a sufficiently early response to the black bile aspirates, and there was a "general failure" to document things properly.

He says that was "circumstantial evidence" of sub-optimal care.

 

[Futtrit]

2:24pm

Mr Myers refers to the documents, such as the neonatal schedule, which have 'limits to what they show', as they "only show activity".
He says they cannot pin down a nurse's time at a precise time, at a particular location.

He says the computer-timed prescriptions are not 'definitely precise.'

He says the times are often made "retrospectively".

The review does not mention how long an activity takes - which can vary, Mr Myers adds.

He says the schedule provides a guide to timings, and does not show what somebody is doing when there is no record.

He says it shows that nurses may be shown to do more than one activity at a time.

He adds many of the events have someone to assist, and says other nurses assist colleagues.

He says when that has been the case for Letby, she has been treated in "the most prejudicial way possible".

 

[Sillybillyy]

I've been watching the threads on and off since the trial started... So sorry to dive in! But as we come to a close, if she's found guilty do you think she'll eventually confess?

 

[abelleza]

They do, unless the laws changed.

Baby's with Downs Syndrome can be euthanized in the Netherlands.

The UK you can abort until the day before your due date.

That's just with DS. Not sure on the exact rules, I know everything I need to know about that bloody place

Euthanised or aborted? If euthanised, that’s horrific

 

[Futtrit]

2:12pm

Mr Myers cites evidence from Eirian Powell, ward manager, in which he says she talked about Letby's importance on the unit, and said Letby was an "exceptionally good nurse" and had "known her since she was a student".

She said Letby was "very upset" when she was removed from the unit.

Mr Myers says that upset was "no act".

He says Ms Powell said Letby was "distraught".
Ms Powell said Letby was distraught as 'she thought she caused the deaths of the children'.

Mr Myers says there is no doubt Letby was "very upset at the time" and this was "genuine distress".

 

[yellowmellow]

They didn’t really have any reaction as far as I could tell, they were just listening and tapping away on laptops.

Are the police just essentially taking minutes?

 

[Morning_Star]

I had made that last night

So did I

 

[Katkitkat]

I’m making chilli con carne for dinner

Snap!

 

[tay65]

A conversation xx

I wondered that but she said I saw a convo and I thought you would hear a conversation so I thought it must have a different meaning.

 

[Futtrit]

10:35am

The trial is now resuming.

Benjamin Myers KC is referring to the case of Child A.

He says there was sub-optimal care in that case.

He says on a neonatal unit, babies "are there for a reason" and many of the babies have "signficant problems" and are "at risk of deterioration".
---

10:37am

He says Melanie Taylor was designated nurse for Child A and Child B. They were both intensive care babies.

He says the prosecution have relied on nursing guidelines for some of the children, but not on the "fundamental issue" of staffing numbers.

He says there "should not have been just one nurse" looking after Child A and Child B.

He says if there was one nurse for each, they would be "more confident" the issue of lines and nursing care was resolved.

He adds Dr David Harkness was stretched between a number of babies for the shift on June 8, 2015.

 

[Futtrit]

10:42am

He says the information presented has been a "spaghetti soup" of data and evidence, some of which "carries little weight at all".

He says the jury must look at the detail presented.

He says it is the jury's views that matter on the evidence.

 

[Futtrit]

2:35pm

Mr Myers refers to Facebook searches.

He says those familiar with social media will look up people for all sorts of reasons at any time of the day or night.

He says it may be "no more than a handful of keys".

He says the prosecution identified a number of messages, and there were more messages than that, Mr Myers says.

He says the jury may agree Letby was a regular user of Facebook, and "rattle through searches".

He says the prosecution draw the jury's attention to the searches for parents, in connection with the allegations.

He says that would be a pattern in line with the theory.

He says some of the parents names of babies on the indictment are missing from the Facebook searches.

He says there are no searches for the parents of Child L-Q.

He says the searches by Letby also demonstrate an interest for parents of babies not on the indictment.

Mr Myers says that is "important", and Letby is seen as somebody who looks up names regularly.

 

[Futtrit]

11:05am

Mr Myers says the research paper from 1989 identified 5 out of 53 infants with skin discolouration, and one had a rash, of 'bright pink vessels against a generally cyanosed cutaneous background'.

He says it is a very specific description, of one case study.

He says as the basis of convicting someone of murders and/or attempted murders it is "tenous in the extreme", but Dr Evans and Dr Bohin have made reference to it.

That "meagre" research has "carried into pure guesswork", he adds.

Professor Sally Kinsey, a professor of haematology, had also given evidence.

She had said in cross-examination, she was not an expert in air embolus.

She agreed she hadn't seen it herself, and that air embolus did not feature in her expertise.

She said she had given evidence because "she had been asked to".

Mr Myers said she had relied upon Dr Evans and Dr Bohin, which he adds was a "big mistake".

 

[LilyRose1234]

You're a wizard barrister Harry!

And they said prescriptive easements can’t be magic

 

[Futtrit]

12:23pm

Mr Myers refers to a text message sent by Letby on June 12: '...They are querying a clotting problem [for Child B].'

He says the prosecution said Letby was 'introducing cover' for events that had she had caused, "seizing on comments".

Mr Myers refers to a text message conversation on June 10, in which the colleague reported: '[Child A's] prelim report - no gross abnormalities. So now bleeds, clots or line issues.'

He says this is something Letby is talking about after being informed about it by another nurse, and is "unremarkable

 

[Futtrit]

Mr Myers says there is a 'harm event' for Child C, as identified by experts, on June 12, 2015, which is not in the sequence of events, and is not on the list. He says Letby was not on duty at that time. He says the prosecution are "not that bothered" for that one as Letby "wasn't on duty".

For Child I, there was a 'harm event' identified which is not included on the chart, and says the table 'doesn't look so good'.

He says there was a third 'harm event', not featured on the indictment, for Child G. He says Dr Sandie Bohin had said there were no further projectile vomits. Mr Myers says he referred to a third event happened on October 15, 2015 by Ashleigh Hudson, at 7.20pm...'one vomit, projectile, quite large in size'.

Dr Bohin said if she had missed it, she missed it, Mr Myers tells the court. He added that was her attitude.

He says there are 'at least two, maybe three events' which happened for the babies when Letby was not on duty. Child C on June 12, 2015; Child I, August 23; and Child N, June 14, 2016, night.


Ohh well. That makes it ok then. Never mind lads, poorly babies were poorly on occasions that she wasn't there so just ignore all the times they had sudden, unexpected collapses when she was there.

Obviously going to slate Dr Bohin, wonder if that stuff about her posted on Fb will be brought up?

 

[gimmethattea]

What's a convo, sorry if I'm a bit thick.

A conversation xx

 

[amsmall]

Wings and chippies x

Is that chicken wings n chips, like chippy chips?

 

[Futtrit]

2:47pm

Mr Myers says for the 21 handover notes relating to babies on the indictment, '9 or 10' do not refer to dates on which events for the babies happened.

He says "they don't do what they should do if the prosecution are right".

 

[Futtrit]

10:36am

He says there is 'not one occasion of Lucy Letby doing one of the harmful acts alleged against her.'

Mr Myers: "Not guilty."

He says "just about everything became an allegation against Lucy Letby".

He says what is really at work is "the presumption of guilt", and the prosecution case is "fuelled" and "riddled" by it.