A mother has said she fears child murderer Lucy Letby attacked her newborn baby as an act of revenge the day after she made a complaint about the nurse.
Lynsey Artell remonstrated with hospital staff after Letby made an “inappropriate” comment about her premature son Asa.
Letby has now been convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at a hospital neonatal unit.
When alarms would go off, during the night especially, there would be a phrase that people would use, they would say: 'I wonder if Lucy's working tonight?'— Lynsey Artell
Ms Artell told Sky News that she and her husband were discussing how their premature son was making good progress on the unit when Letby – who had been eavesdropping – told them: “I don’t like parents getting their hopes up because we never know what could happen at this stage.”
Ms Artell – herself a nurse at the hospital – complained to senior staff on the ward.
The following day, Artell left her two-day-old son’s bedside to get a coffee and returned to find medical staff gathered around him, drawing the screens.
Her baby had a huge spike in insulin levels and was receiving urgent treatment.
During Letby’s trial, Manchester Crown Court heard she used various ways to harm the babies including poisoning them with insulin.
Ms Artell said she was “furious” when Letby made the comment about her baby.
Speaking to Sky News, she said: “This was my seventh pregnancy… she needed to know that that was inappropriate.”
The mother complained to hospital staff, and now fears her actions could have motivated Letby to harm her son as an act of revenge.
She continued: “I just thought I don’t want to lose another one… I hadn’t even held him yet.”
Doctors were able to bring baby Asa around and eventually he was discharged from hospital.
Ms Artell said she has never received a satisfactory explanation as to why her son’s insulin levels shot up without warning.
After Letby was arrested, Ms Artell contacted police who investigated twice but never brought any charges.
Ms Artell, who worked as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital, said when medical emergencies occurred colleagues would speculate whether Letby was working.
She said: “When alarms would go off, during the night especially, there would be a phrase that people would use, colleagues that I know, they would say: ‘I wonder if Lucy’s working tonight?’.”
