NHS boss in charge of nursing at hospital when Lucy Letby went on killing spree finally suspended
AN NHS boss who was in charge of nursing at the hospital when Lucy Letby murdered seven babies has finally been suspended from her current role.
It comes after hospital chiefs were accused of ignoring concerns raised about Letby by her doctor colleagues, who feared she was a killer.
Alison Kelly earns around £100,000 a year as nursing director at The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in Salford after moving on from the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby killed four babies after Kelly — suspended pending a further investigation — was alerted to concerns about her.
Seven senior consultants complained about Letby following a spike in deaths when she was working on the neonatal ward.
But senior managers ignored their claims and asked them to apologise to her.
Yesterday, experts said the NHS’s whistleblowing system must be overhauled.
Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said: “All too often, whistleblowers are treated by bad employers like the problem and find themselves on the receiving end of threats and bullying to remain silent.”
The Department of Health plans an independent inquiry — but victims’ families are unhappy it will not have to force people to give evidence.