A boss at the hospital where Lucy Letby killed babies has said he “genuinely regrets” not calling the police sooner and that he is “truly sorry” for letting the relatives down.
Ian Harvey, a former medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital, told the Thirlwall inquiry he wished he had contacted police almost a year before they were notified.
Harvey began his testimony at Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday, saying: “I am sorry for the pain caused to the parents and families of the babies.
“I extend this to the parents of the babies who were the subject of the assessments but were not included in the trial and are not part of this study.”
He added: “It was always my wish to have a safe hospital and to be able to tell the parents what happened in the neonatal unit. If I fail, I am truly sorry.”
The inquiry, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall, is investigating the events surrounding the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of seven others by Letby between June 2015 and June 2016.
Harvey, speaking for the first time about the case, said he should have contacted police in late June 2016 after the deaths of two newborn triplets — the nurse’s last two victims — 10 months before investigators were notified.
“From all documentation I am aware that in June and July 2016 I expressed the view that we should approach the police and I sincerely regret that we did not do so at the time,” he told the inquiry.
Harvey, who took early retirement weeks before Letby was arrested in 2018, said he was “uncomfortable” with the 10-month delay, although he “could understand why we did what we did.”
He added: “Based on the communications and conversations we had with the police almost a year later, I am not convinced that they would necessarily have acted at that time.
“But I have to accept that there would have been potential for oversight or advice in relation to the assessments we carried out, and the possibility that they could have intervened earlier if anything had been found.”
The parents of babies killed by Letby have accused Harvey and other bosses of being “complicit” in her crimes by failing to inform them that there were concerns their children had been harmed.
The former medical director and fellow administrators have also been accused of a “lack of transparency” with regulators by failing to inform the Care Quality Commission about the rise in neonatal deaths during its inspection in February 2016.
When asked by counsel to the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, whether he believed he was failing in his aims to be open with parents and oversee a safe hospital, Harvey said: “I think the simple fact that there was an increase in mortality is an indication that we are wrong.
“I believe I made it clear in my statement that I failed in my communication with the families regarding the nature and quality of the information they received.”
The investigation continues.