Lucy Letby helped create a banner commemorating a baby girl’s 100th day of life just hours before attempting to murder her, according to testimony at her trial.
In September 2015, Ms. Letby is accused of attempting to murder the preterm infant referred to as Child G three times at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
On one occasion, Child G’s mother discovered her daughter in Ms. Letby’s care “freaked out and screaming.”
Ms. Letby, 32, denies 22 accusations.
The Manchester Crown Court was informed that Child G was born around 16 weeks prematurely at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral and weighed approximately 1lb.
At 13 weeks, she was sent to the newborn facility in Chester.
The court heard that Ms. Letby was on her final of four consecutive night shifts when the infant got severely unwell in the early hours of September 7, 2015.
She had severely vomited and was bleeding from the throat before collapsing.
The infant was transferred to critical care, where she was resuscitated after doctors were contacted.
It is stated that Ms. Letby overfed Baby G.
The jury has been informed that the infant survived despite suffering permanent brain damage and various disabilities, including quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
In a court-read statement, Child G’s mother detailed an instance when Ms. Letby instructed her to take her daughter’s blood readings.
She stated, “She said, “Wait in the parents’ room,” which was not uncommon, as nurses frequently say, “Go out and return later.” I went to get a cup of coffee, but something pinched me, so I returned early.
“[Child G] was in a state of panic and screaming. She appeared very perplexed.
“Lucy was with another staff member who was attempting to calm her down; in the end, they let me hold her since that’s what calmed her down – cuddles.”
In a second declaration, Child G’s father stated that he had “never seen anything” about the nurses or doctors.
In addition, he stated in his statement that his daughter had a 5% chance of survival at delivery and was the size of his hand at birth.
The day following Child G’s collapse, Ms. Letby texted an unnamed former nursing colleague at 16:25 BST, according to court testimony.
She inquired, “How are the parents?”
The coworker responded: “Devastated yet determined, she will persevere as always. They believed that once she reached 100, they would have confidence that she would be all right.”
Ms. Letby reacted: “It’s awful, isn’t it? We were all seated at our desks when the shift change banner appeared.”
The second nurse responded: “Yup. Mary has brought in her dessert.”
An hour later, Ms. Letby inquired, “Do you have any clue what caused it?”
The nurse’s reply was: “Nope. It appears to be a [circulation] breakdown. Clear chest seems “.
Ms. Letby answered: “Hmmm. What may be the cause? Is it because she was an extremely premature infant who was dependent on inotropes and a ventilator for an extended period, and now that she is older and able to care for herself more, it only takes a small infection or something else to cause her to pass out because she has no reserves and chronic lung disease, etc.?”
The nurse responded, “We are going with sepsis, and indeed, she appears to have no reserves.”
Ms. Letby denies the death of seven infants and the attempted murder of ten others.
A court injunction prohibits the identification of the youngsters allegedly attacked by Ms. Letby, as well as their parents and some witnesses.
The proceeding continues.
