Neo-natal nurse Lucy Letby, 32, attacked baby girl twice in 24 hours, court ... trends now
A baby girl was attacked twice in 24 hours by a nurse accused of murdering seven children while on duty, a court heard today.
Doctors could find no 'clear' medical reason for why the premature infant dramatically collapsed at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Cheshire, in 2015.
Lucy Letby, 32, was working consecutive night shifts when the girl, known as Baby H, suffered a cardiac arrest and needed emergency resuscitation in the early hours of September 26 and 27, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Despite being without a heartbeat for up to 22 minutes, she survived and was transferred to a more specialist neo-natal unit at Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral.
Lucy Letby, 32, was a neonatal nurse at Countess of Chester Hospital. She is accused of murdering seven babies and attempting the murder of ten more
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Lucy Letby listening from the dock at Manchester Crown Court where she is charged with the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of another ten, between June 2015 and June 2016 while working on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospita
Her parents told jurors that Baby H appeared 'a different baby' and came on 'in leaps and bounds' at Arrowe Park, where doctors quickly stabilised her. She survived without any lasting harm.
The prosecution say Letby somehow sabotaged her care on both occasions. She denies two charges of attempted murder.
Dr Matthew Neame, who attended to Baby H during her second cardiac arrest, told the court that staff were worried because they could not work out what had caused her heart to stop on both occasions.
In a discharge note for medics at Arrowe Park, the registrar explained that she had previously been treated for problems associated with a puncture in her left lung (pneumothoraces) and respiratory distress syndrome, a breathing problem common in premature babies.
But this did not appear to explain her low heart rate (bradycardia) and drop in oxygen levels (desaturations) during the 'acute' collapses.
Dr Neame wrote: 'Thank you for accepting this baby who has had two significant episodes of bradycardia requiring resuscitation, adrenaline and CPR in the last 24 hours with no clear precipitating factors. Her care has been complicated by the development of respiratory distress syndrome and pneumothoraces but the acute episodes with desaturation and bradycardia do not seem to be directly
