‘Lack of transparency’ over spike in baby deaths, watchdog tells Letby inquiry

Countess of Chester bosses did not tell inspectors about the unexplained deaths of babies until after they had published a report on the hospital. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Hospital managers showed a “lack of transparency” by failing to tell a healthcare watchdog about a spike in baby deaths during an inspection that took place nine months after Lucy Letby’s first murder, an inquiry has been told.

A senior manager at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said executives at the Countess of Chester hospital had a “professional obligation” to alert inspectors to concerns about the rise in neonatal mortality during its review in February 2016.