Staff fear being accused of harming babies, senior consultants says
www.telegraph.co.uk
Neonatal nurses are resigning from Britain’s baby units because they fear being accused of harming infants like in the case of Lucy Letby, a consultant has claimed in a new Channel 5 documentary.
In the documentary, which looks into concerns with the Letby conviction, Dr Svilena Dimitrova, a consultant neonatologist, warned that NHS problems were “endemic” and nurses were frightened they could be scapegoated for failing wards.
An experienced neonatal nurse, who chose to remain anonymous, told the documentary-makers the Letby conviction had left staff concerned that they may be accused of killing babies.
“It’s made me and others quite worried,” she said. “I think there is a general fear of speaking up.
“The conviction has had a negative effect on our profession, it’s made us more worried about what the parents might think.
“I think it’s alarming how they’ve thrown allegations at Lucy. I realise how easily it could have been one of my colleagues or me. What’s gone on with Lucy is very close to home.”