16 episodes
We Need To Talk About Lucy Letby Peter Elston and Michael McConville
-
- True Crime
We Need To Talk About Lucy Letby is a podcast series hosted by statistician Peter Elston and retired doctor Michael McConville. Lucy Letby was a neonatal nurse at The Countess of Chester Hospital in NW England who was convicted in August 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further six on seven occasions, though she was found not guilty on two counts of attempted murder and verdicts could not be reached in another six. In this series, Peter and Michael discuss the many aspects of the case and the steps over more than ten years that led to Lucy ending up in HMP Bronzefield serving 14 full life terms. But could it be the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history?
-
16. Victorian plumbing, Victorian medical care
There is much in Rachel Aviv's New Yorker article to digest. In this episode Peter and Michael continue to discuss the piece, specifically what Aviv writes in relation to the 1970s origins of the neonatal unit at The Countess, its poor plumbing, and the cramped conditions that increased likelihood of infection spreading. They also discuss the many many medical issues faced by Baby A and wonder why jurors decided they didn't explain his death.
-
15. New York, New York!
The New Yorker publishes a 13 thousand word article about the holes in the Lucy Letby case. In episode 15, Michael and Peter discuss various aspects of the article, such as it having been 'geoblocked' in the UK, and whether the UK's contempt laws in relation to reporting restrictions that are designed to prevent upcoming trials being prejudiced are fit for purpose. Aviv's article touches on the infamous roster data table shown to jurors, which your co-hosts discuss in detail.
-
14. Infighting
In this episode, Michael and Peter pick up the timeline of key events in June 2016 with the deaths of the two triplets, Babies O and P. Lucy is put on admin duty and submits a grievance against the consultants. The RCPCH and Jane Hawdon are brought in. Lucy wins her grienace and the consultants are threatened with a GMC referral. They fight back, and the police are called in to investigate the high mortality.
-
13. Chaos
Peter and Michael go through a timeline of key events from June 2015 to May 2016. Why did lead paediatric consultant Stephen Brearey hone in on Lucy so early on? What was his October email about and who was it to? Then came the damning 'chaos' email from consultant Alison Timmis to hospital management.
-
12. Expected or unexpected? Which is it, docs?
In this episode, Michael and Peter complete their discussion of the RCPCH service review. They focus on a stark contradiction, namely that because deaths were expected, consultants did not report them to the Child Death Overview Panel , and yet their line later was that the deaths were unexpected.
-
11. Reluctance among doctors at The Countess to seek advice
Michael and Peter discuss RCPCH review findings that not only was there insufficient senior medical cover at The Countess but there was also reluctance to seek advice, whether among junior doctors or consultants. Was this because proceedures were weak or they weren't being followed? Michael cites an example from his own experience.