Lucy Letby tells trial she wasn't with baby during collapse (2024)

Lucy Letby has told her murder trial how she was in a different nursery when a doctor allegedly saw her "doing nothing" when a baby girl collapsed.

The nurse is said to have deliberately dislodged the child's breathing tube at Countess of Chester Hospital's neonatal unit.

Dr Ravi Jayaram told the trial he saw her by the infant during the incident.

Ms Letby, 33, denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 more between June 2015 and June 2016.

Giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court earlier this year, the doctor said he saw the defendant standing by the incubator of the baby, referred to as Child K, as her blood oxygen levels plummeted.

No alarms were sounding, he said, and he recalled the nurse was "doing nothing".

But the nurse, originally of Hereford, told the jury she was feeding another baby in what is referred to as nursery two at or shortly before 03.50 GMT on February 2015.

Her barrister Ben Myer KC asked: "Did you interfere with [Child K's] tube?

"No," she replied.

Mr Myers said: "Was there a time when you were in the nursery and Ravi Jayaram came in and he found you to be standing there close to [Child K]?"

Ms Letby said: "No."

Mr Myers said: "Do you recall any incident when you were present while [Child K] deteriorated and Ravi Jayaram was involved at about 3.50am?"

She replied: "No I don't."

Mr Myers said: "Or at any other time?"

Ms Letby said: "No."

Mr Myers said: "Did Ravi Jayaram ever say to you what is going on here?

The defendant repeated: "No."

Mr Myers said: "Did he say to you why the alarm is not going?"

She said: "No, I don't recall any conversation with Dr Jayaram that night at all."

The defendant told the court she was feeding another baby at "roughly" 03:30, which involved changing a nappy and giving 55ml of milk via a nasogastric tube.

When Mr Myers asked how long would it be in the case of Child K, she replied: "I can't put a definitive time on it, but I would say 15 to 20 minutes."

Mr Myers said: "If that is ongoing do you have any reason to be in nursery one at or shortly before 3.50am?"

The nurse replied: "No, I was with this baby."

The prosecution allege Ms Letby struck less than two hours after the extremely premature baby was born, weighing 692g.

The infant's designated nurse Joanne Williams said she left a "stable" Child K to update her parents on the labour ward, the court has heard.

Dr Jayaram said Ms Williams had told him that the defendant was keeping an eye on Child K while she was away.

He told the court that he felt "uncomfortable" because of Ms Letby's "association" to a "number of unexpected and unusual events" by this point and decided to check the room.

Dr Jayaram said he could not understand why Child K's breathing tube had dislodged.

Ms Letby told the court it was not unusual for such a tube to move with an active baby.

The nurse said she had no recollection of Child K being on the unit, apart from noting it was "unusual" for a baby to be born at the Countess of Chester at just 25 weeks gestation.

The court has heard the nurse made a Facebook search for Child K's surname in April 2018.

Mr Myers said: "Can you help us with why it is that two years later you are looking at this on Facebook?"

Ms Letby replied: "You still think of patients that you cared for."

Child K was transferred later that day on 17 February to Wirral's Arrowe Park Hospital, where she died three days later.

Ms Letby is accused of attempting to murder Child K but the prosecution does not allege Ms Letby caused her death.

Mr Myers also asked the nurse about the collapse of a premature baby boy - Child N - who the court has heard first collapsed in the early hours of June 2016.

The jury has heard Child N experienced a "sudden deterioration" and was heard "screaming" and crying for 30 minutes.

Mr Myers asked if the child's screams were a result of the accused "performing some sort of attack", to which she responded "no it's not" and denied causing the boy any harm.

The nurse was asked about her life outside of work at that time.

She said: "I had a very busy life, I owned my own home, had lots of hobbies, met with friends a lot and had an active life."

Facebook messages shown to the court revealed she was preparing for a holiday to Ibiza in June 2016 with a friend and a nursing colleague.

Ms Letby said she was "excited" and "looking forward" to the trip.

Mr Myers asked if, in between planning her holiday, she was "killing babies".

"No, that did not happen", she said.

The trial continues.