UK Indian-origin doctor's role crucial in catching nurse found guilty of killing 7 babies
London, August 19: Dr Ravi Jayaram, a UK-born Indian-origin consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, has played a crucial role in raising concerns and contributing to the conviction of a nurse found guilty of killing seven babies by a UK court on Friday.
In a significant development, the Himachal Pradesh government declared the severe damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. Acknowledging the loss of human life and property due to the intense downpours, a notification issued on Friday designated the entire hill state as a "natural calamity affected area."
Earlier on the same day, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed PTI that the state had decided to categorize the extensive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. He further indicated that the state was awaiting a response from the Central government to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity.
Dr Ravi Jayaram, an Indian-origin consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester, UK, is among those who have raised concerns and assisted in convicting a nurse found guilty of killing seven babies by a UK court on Friday.
Letby, 33, was found guilty of the murder of seven newborn babies and also found guilty of seven counts of attempted murder relating to six other babies by a jury at Manchester Crown Court. She will be sentenced at the same court on Monday.
Speaking to 'ITV News' after the verdict, Dr. Jayaram expressed his belief that "there are four or five babies who could be going to school now who aren't." He explained that doctors initially raised concerns after three babies died in June 2015. As more babies suffered and died, senior medical professionals like him held multiple meetings with hospital executives to express their concerns about Letby.
In April 2017, after meetings with hospital executives, doctors were finally allowed to meet with a police officer. "The police, after listening to us for less than 10 minutes, realized that this is something they had to be involved with. I could have punched the air," recalled Dr. Jayaram.
An investigation was launched shortly afterward, leading to Letby's arrest.
During her trial, the court heard that Letby employed various methods to secretly harm a total of 13 babies in the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester hospital between 2015 and 2016.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) presented evidence that Letby used various methods to harm babies, including injecting air and insulin into their bloodstream, infusing air into their gastrointestinal tract, force-feeding an overdose of milk or fluids, and inflicting impact-type trauma.
Letby's intention was to kill the babies while deceiving her colleagues into believing there was a natural cause, the jury was told.
"Lucy Letby sought to deceive her colleagues and pass off the harm she caused as nothing more than a worsening of each baby's existing vulnerability. In her hands, innocuous substances like air, milk, fluids – or medication like insulin – would become lethal. She perverted her learning and weaponized her craft to inflict harm, grief, and death," said Pascale Jones of the CPS.
Jonathan Storer, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, added: "This is an utterly horrifying case. Like everyone who followed the trial, I have been appalled by Letby's callous crimes."
Letby was found not guilty of two charges of attempted murder, and the jury was unable to reach verdicts on six further counts of attempted murder. Throughout the trial, Letby claimed that she was being falsely accused to cover hospital failings.
- With inputs from agencies
