Lucy Letby - The Importance of Whistleblowing
On August 21, 2023, Lucy Letby was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of six others between 2015 and 2016. Letby had come under scrutiny in the wake of a series of unexpected infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital, a troubling pattern that emerged shortly after her assignment to the intensive care unit and persisted until her removal from her duties.
During her trial, which commenced in October 2022, it was revealed that Letby used disturbing methods such as injecting air to induce cardiac arrest or administering insulin to provoke severe hypoglycaemia in her victims. She also subjected the infants to overfeeding and physical abuse, keeping disturbing mementoes and 'trophies' as reminders of her crimes.
Justice may have now been served, but this does very little to comfort the victim’s families. How can we, as a society, prevent this from every happening again?
Numerous staff aired concerns about the increasing mortality rates at the Countess of Chester Hospital, with Letby being consistently associated with these cases. What was viewed primarily as an observation should have prompted more concern. With the benefit of hindsight, surely an investigation is due to identify the lessons that must be learned to protect not only potential victims, but those who sound the alarms.
The Laws of Whistleblowing
When an employee raises concerns with their employers, the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) protects them from detrimental treatment or unfair dismissal. The downfall of this legislation lies in its definition of “qualifying disclosures,” which are as follows:
a) “That a criminal offence has been committed, is being committed or is likely to be committed,
b) that a person has failed, is failing or is likely to fail to comply with any legal obligation to which he is subject,
c) that a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur,
d) that the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered,
e) that the environment has been, is being or is likely to be damaged, or
f) that information tending to show any matter falling within any one of the preceding paragraphs has been, is being or is likely to be deliberately concealed.”
This means that not every disclosure will qualify as protected. A hospital consultant raising concerns about rising mortality rates in particular care, especially when questioned in line with a new employee, would qualify directly as a “qualifying disclosure.” However, it could be the case that the facts did not provide it.
Unfortunately, the infants were patients in a specialist neonatal unit, making them the most vulnerable to death and disease in the hospital. It would appear, at least at the time, that the death of an already extremely ill baby is common for the department. Furthermore, evidence for Letby’s involvement was merely circumstantial, and she had a clean record before her murders. This, therefore, creates a very delicate situation to investigate, especially in consideration of the hospital’s duty of care towards their nurses. From this line of argument, it appears clear why action was not taken sooner. However, was it a hospital’s lack of reasonable cause to act or observing staff intimidated by speaking up?
Potential Reforms and Further Preventative Measures
Although one can comprehend the difficult position of Letby’s employers and co-workers were in, it is not possible to absolve them from accountability. Any inquiry would be able to identify what else should have been done to prevent Letby’s heinous acts.
There must be a wider examination into how the failures of PIDA and other whistleblowing legislation suppressed concerns that it is designed to safeguard. The British Government has now launched its review of the whistleblowing framework to investigate if PIDA is upholding the standards it was intended to. The proposals will encompass various considerations, including the potential establishment of a unified regulatory body responsible for upholding workers' rights, including whistleblower protection. Additionally, the government will delve into the effectiveness of current worker safeguards and the overall benefits and repercussions of the existing whistleblowing framework.
Lobbyists are calling for further reform, including repealing PIDA, an independent office for whistleblowing, and internal arrangements with extended time limits. While a total repeal of PIDA is unlikely, it remains clear that these victims were wronged, not only by Letby but by the hospital to which their care has been entrusted and the regulatory framework.
by Carolina Beirne