Hundreds of healthcare workers demand review into Letby conviction

More than 400 healthcare workers person called for a reappraisal of Lucy Letby’s case.

The group, which includes 200 nurses, arsenic good arsenic consultants, inferior doctors, radiographers and psychiatrists, has written to wellness unions asking them to “stand with us” to support unit from allegations of wrongdoing.

They assertion Letby’s “unsafe” condemnation has triggered a “climate of fear” successful the NHS and that they person been “gagged” and prevented from speaking retired connected behalf of Letby by their trusts.

Letby, 35, of Herefordshire, was convicted of the murders of 7 babies and the attempted execution of 7 others portion moving astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital successful 2015 and 2016.

But galore experts person challenged the mode the grounds was presented to the jury, and a sheet of world-leading experts has since reviewed the aesculapian notes and concluded determination were nary malicious acts.

Letby’s lawsuit is presently being considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which looks into imaginable miscarriages of justice, though constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service importune she was reasonably convicted.

The caller missive was compiled by the radical Nineteen Nurses, who primitively wrote to Sir Keir Starmer astir the lawsuit past year, but since past their radical has grown to 426.

They claimed that “nurses are afraid” and called for unions to request an autarkic and transparent reappraisal of the Letby conviction.

“We basal agreed successful our heavy interest implicit what galore successful the nursing and wider healthcare assemblage believes to beryllium an unsafe condemnation successful the lawsuit of Lucy Letby,” they wrote.

“Many who question the fairness of this condemnation are being silenced – gagged by nonrecreational pressure, fearfulness of disciplinary enactment and the chilling world that advocating for information could extremity their careers.

“But we garbage to beryllium silent. Speaking up for 1 caregiver is speaking up for america all.

“It is not conscionable Lucy Letby’s liberty astatine stake, but the precise instauration of spot and information for nurses moving crossed the UK.

“If a caregiver tin beryllium convicted successful specified a manner, without irrefutable evidence, past immoderate caregiver could beryllium next.”

The nurses reason that Letby’s condemnation was based mostly connected circumstantial grounds and contested aesculapian opinions. They said it had sent a “chilling message” crossed the NHS: that immoderate caregiver moving successful a strained, high-risk situation could look transgression charges for systemic failures beyond their control.

“This isn’t justice. This is scapegoating,” the missive continued. “If a caregiver tin beryllium convicted successful specified a manner, without irrefutable evidence, past immoderate caregiver could beryllium next.

“Nurses are second-guessing their objective judgment, hesitating to papers decisions and are acrophobic to rise concerns – not due to the fact that they don’t care, but due to the fact that they fearfulness being punished for telling the truth.”

NineteenNurses.com was formed to enactment nurses and healthcare professionals affected by oregon acrophobic astir miscarriages of justness wrong the wellness system.

‘Weaponisation of blame’

The radical says that galore nurses person started second-guessing their objective judgment, hesitating to papers decisions and are acrophobic to rise concerns.

They are calling connected the UK’s main healthcare unions to request an autarkic and transparent reappraisal of the Letby conviction.

“We inquire our unions to basal with america successful protecting the assemblage from the weaponisation of blasted successful a strategy already buckling nether immense strain,” they added.

“We request a genuinely autarkic reappraisal into this case, escaped from organization bias and media influence.”

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