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The government has announced that the inquiry into the circumstances around crimes committed by Lucy Letby will become statutory giving it the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.
It follows a call last week from the Health Ombudsman, Rob Behrens, for the proposed inquiry into the events at the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust to have statutory status, so that it has use of all the legal powers available to get to the truth of what happened.
While statutory inquiries traditionally take longer to conclude than non-statutory inquiries, moving to a statutory footing will also mean that evidence must be heard in public, unless the inquiry chair decides otherwise.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “The crimes committed by Lucy Letby are truly harrowing, and my thoughts remain with the families of her victims. Following her conviction, we announced an inquiry and said the nature of this inquiry would be shaped by the families.
“Having now discussed this with the families, we will launch a full statutory inquiry giving it the legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence. This statutory public inquiry will aim to give the families the answers they need and ensure lessons are learned.”
The statutory inquiry will investigate the wider circumstances around what happened at the trust, including the handling of concerns and governance. It will also look at what actions were taken by regulators and the wider NHS.
The government said it will publish the inquiry’s terms of reference – setting out the scope of the work – in due course and is working with colleagues across government to identify a suitable judge to chair it as soon as possible.
Still need a thorough, independent review of NHS leadership
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said it welcomed the Letby inquiry being given statutory status and said it is the only way the families can get to the truth of what happened.
Rob Behrens added: “It is only right that there is such an inquiry into how she was able to carry out such heinous crimes for two years before her employer raised concerns with the police. Having said that, we still need a thorough, independent review of NHS leadership, accountability and culture, and it needs cross-party support. The culture of fear and defensiveness within the NHS is not isolated to this case, it is a widespread problem which our Broken Trust report laid bare. These recent events mean our recommendations take on even more urgency.
“This is the moment to reset the culture of the NHS which can only happen if we fully explore the problems and potential solutions. This culture of fear and defensiveness needs to change and be replaced by one where patient and staff voices are heard.”