Relaxing with a glass of wine in the rural French home he shares with his wife, this is the retired NHS manager now accused of ignoring doctors’ concerns about Lucy Letby as she embarked on her murderous assault.
Ian Harvey, 65, was the £175,000-a-year medical director of the Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby murdered seven premature babies and attempted to murder six more.
But amid the fallout from Letby’s 10-month trial — and after allegations he “fobbed off” parents of murdered babies — Harvey is now embroiled in a bitter war of words between hospital directors and senior doctors over who, if anyone, should be, take the blame for not stopping the killer nurse sooner.
Because while several advisers claim he refused to listen to concerns about Letby following a spike in premature infant deaths in 2015 and 2016, Mr Harvey has questioned in a statement to the Mail why it took so long for blood tests to come to light. two of the babies were poisoned with insulin.
With former hospital colleagues pointing the finger at each other, the Mail has discovered unanswered questions for those on both sides of this ugly spat.
Ian Harvey, former medical director of the Countess of Chester Hospital, enjoys retirement with his wife Lesa in his sprawling French farmhouse
The £175,000 a year medical boss was accused of fobbing off the victims’ parents. He is now involved in a bitter war of words with other hospital directors and senior doctors over who is to blame for failing to stop the murderous nurse.
Suspicions about Letby arose in June 2015 after the death of three premature babies in hospital and the collapse of another baby within 14 days – the equivalent of an average year’s worth of deaths in just 14 days. Although Letby, then 25, was the only employee on duty at the time, it seemed inconceivable that the beloved nurse could have harmed the babies.
By the end of October 2015, seven premature babies had died. Again it was noted that Letby was the only member of staff present at each death, but this was still considered a coincidence by the medical staff.
Senior doctors asked independent expert neonatologist Dr Nimish Subhedar of the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust to assess the deaths. He noted that the babies were stable and all had unusually failed to respond to CPR attempts, also noting that Letby was present in any case.
Neonatal consultant Stephen Brearey claims he sent Dr Subhedar’s report to Mr Harvey in February 2016 and requested an emergency meeting – something, he claims, which did not take place until three months later. Mr. Harvey denies this.
“It is claimed that the pediatricians informed me of their concerns in February 2016, but a meeting was not organized until May 2016. I do not recall such a message,” he said in a statement to this newspaper.
He added: “It is surprising, given the level of concern some paediatricians claimed to have had at the time, that there was no follow-up action to get a response, either from my secretary or from me.”
Also, during their four-day visit to the hospital in February 2016, the advisers did not express their concerns to the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission.
By then, Letby had killed five babies in nine months, but nothing was said about the spike in premature infant deaths.
Neonatal nurse Lucy Letby (pictured) was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six more
The Countess of Chester Hospital, where Letby went on a gruesome killing spree between June 2015 and 2016
The CQC says advisers at the trust shared other concerns during the inspection. These related to staffing levels and a lack of support from senior management and ‘a culture of bullying where the concerns they had raised with management were ignored’. According to the CQC, this was followed up by Mr Harvey the same day so that ‘action could be taken as a result’.
Yet the hospital appeared to be led and managed by ‘an accessible and visible management team’ with staff who felt ‘well supported’ and ‘able to raise concerns’.
Mr Harvey insists he had an ‘open door policy’, adding: ‘When I was in the office and there was no meeting my door was open and anyone could call, whether with a professional or personal issue – as many did. Before May 2016, a pediatrician never came to my office to discuss their concerns.”
Mr. Harvey, who qualified as a physician in 1981, arrived at the hospital in 1994 as a traumatic orthopedic surgeon. He joined management in 2012 as medical director and was appointed deputy general manager in May 2016.
Turning the tables on his former colleagues, he wondered why doctors had failed to notice that a premature twin boy had been poisoned with insulin as early as August 2015 after he sent blood samples for analysis.
One of the neonatal consultants noticed the abnormal results but did not suspect foul play and did not tell his colleagues.
In February 2016, a second child also underwent a blood test that revealed abnormally high insulin levels, but young doctors failed to realize its significance. According to Mr Harvey, ‘These blood tests may have been the only concrete evidence we could have obtained that accidental or malicious acts had harmed babies. If I had heard about it during or before the meeting in May 2016, I would have recommended contacting the police immediately.”
As a result, he claimed when he and other senior colleagues met with police, “we had nothing but limited circumstantial evidence to report.”
Letby was not arrested for the first time until July 3, 2018. That month, four pediatricians reported Mr. Harvey to the General Medical Council (GMC). Just weeks later, Mr Harvey retired at the age of 60, with a pension pot worth £1.8 million after more than 20 years with the trust.
In his valedictorian speech to colleagues a month later, he said: ‘I’m confident that this hospital can handle whatever comes its way and just keeps getting stronger because the teams here are just so good.’
Ian Harvey receives a retirement gift in July 2018
A former employee told the Mail: ‘Around the time he retired I asked Harvey if he thought there could be a public inquiry into what happened, and his words were ‘They should find me first’, which bothered me.
He suggested that he would be long gone. The pediatricians definitely forced his hand. They told him, “If you don’t go to the police, we will.” There was a lot of foot dragging. They were frustrated.’
Mr Harvey and his second wife, Lesa, 63, sold their £400,000 house in the Cheshire village of Malpas and moved to the Dordogne, where they look after rescue horses.
Social media suggests they spend their time tending to their animals, entertaining family, enjoying restaurants and taking weekend breaks in five-star hotels. But what should have been a peaceful retirement was marred by the Letby scandal.
The GMC carried out a ‘full investigation’ into Mr Harvey over four years, contacted the police and obtained an independent expert report. According to a spokesman, the GMC ‘thoroughly examined all relevant information’ before concluding last year that the case had not reached the threshold for referral to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
However, parents of a baby killed by Letby claimed they were ‘totally fobbed off’ by Mr Harvey when they begged for answers about what happened to their child. Mr Harvey said he would have wanted to give ‘detailed and accurate answers’ to the parents but ‘once the police got involved we were advised by them not to do or say anything that could jeopardize the investigation ‘.
But attorney Richard Scorer, head of assault and public investigations at Slater and Gordon, which acts for two families, claims the parents contacted him several months before police were called.
Parents of a baby killed by Letby (pictured) claimed they were ‘completely fobbed off’ by Mr Harvey when they begged for answers about what happened to their child
Mr Harvey sent the first of four ‘highly bureaucratic’ letters inviting parents to get in touch in February 2017, Mr Scorer said, but he did not call back and the promised meetings never materialised.
Mr Harvey said: ‘I have no access to previous post or emails and cannot comment specifically. I am prepared to provide appropriate accountability and will personally attend the public inquiry. I will make a full, open and honest contribution. I will do everything I can to help parents get the answers they deserve.”
A public inquiry will investigate the circumstances surrounding Letby’s crimes. In the end, a source close to the case told this newspaper: “There is definitely a sense that they all have their story straightened out and are taking control of the story before any investigation is launched.”
Additional reporting: Daisy Graham-Brown