Lucy Letby: Paediatrician who gave evidence in child killer's trial joins calls for public inquiry

• 'We need answers': Dr Sandie Bohin tells Roisin Gauson there should be a judicial inquiry into the events leading up to Lucy Letby's killings

One of the expert paediatricians who gave evidence in the trial of serial killer nurse Lucy Letby has come out in support of growing calls for an independent public inquiry.

Dr Sandie Bohin, a consultant from Guernsey, was called by the prosecution to testify as a neonatal specialist during the 10-month trial.

Medical evidence from Dr Bohin and her colleague Dr Dewi Evans helped to secure the conviction of the former nurse, who will spend the rest of her life in prison after being found guilty of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to murder six others.

Following the trial at Manchester Crown Court, Dr Bohin has returned to Guernsey where she spoke to ITV News about how she became involved with the case in 2018.

She said she was approached by the National Crime Agency to review some notes from babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

"At that stage, I didn't know why they wanted me to review the notes," she explained.

"I said I would and it became apparent that they wanted me to look at cases where babies had either died in unusual circumstances or had collapsed in unusual circumstances.

"They wanted me to give an opinion on whether I thought it was natural causes or whether I thought there was anything unusual about how these children had either died or collapsed."

Dr Bohin, who was one of two neonatal experts called upon to give evidence, said her experience of being involved in the proceedings was "fascinating, even given the macabre nature of what we were dealing with".

"As an expert witness, your duty is to the court - not to one side or the other," she said.

"It was very intense - there were lots of long days, and you're asking the jury to pick apart minute details of neonatal intensive care which was a huge responsibility for them and really difficult for them.

"Part of my role was to explain neonatal intensive care to the jury so they all had an understanding of what was normal, so there was a lot of investigation."

Dr Bohin was present at Manchester Crown Court to hear the judge, Mr Justice Goss, sentence Letby to life behind bars.

Emotions were running high in the court as the convicted killer did not appear in person to hear the judge's decision."[Letby] made it known to the judge via her defence team that she would not be appearing in court for the sentencing.

"It was very emotionally charged. The parents who could be present were present. They had waited a very long time and had been extremely dignified throughout the whole trial.

"They were desperate to give their victim impact statements. That was the most harrowing day of the trial for me - hearing the long-reaching effects that [Letby's] crimes had had on their families."

The consultant paediatrician - who took time off from her day job with Guernsey's Medical Specialist Group to assist with the investigation - said she was initially left in "disbelief" that any medical professional could be involved.

"You go into medicine thinking you're going to help people," she said.

"What you don't think is that you're going to have somebody undertaking criminal acts on a neonatal unit.

"On reviewing the notes, it became obvious - for some of the cases - what had happened. It was very clear to me and Dr Evans that some sort of foul play or unnatural act had befallen these children.

"It wasn't our role to say who had done that - it was our role to say what we thought had happened."

Dr Bohin added that issues with medication or faulty equipment were initially considered, but it eventually became apparent that the deaths were not down to natural causes.

The Guernsey paediatrician has joined the growing number of voices calling for a public inquiry into the events at the Countess of Chester Hospital leading up to Letby's murders.

She told ITV News: "I think there needs to be a full judicial inquiry rather than just an ordinary inquiry.

"I think people should be compelled to come and give evidence so this can be looked at in the most detailed way possible.

"We need answers", Dr Bohin said. "The parents of babies who didn't get a verdict on what happened to their baby need answers on what happened, how it was allowed to happen, and how she was allowed to continue for so long after concerns were raised.

"It's very clear that if the managers had listened or investigated at the time the consultants raised their concerns, some deaths or collapses would not have occurred."

Dr Bohin said while she didn't want to go as far as her colleague Dr Evans in pushing for hospital bosses to face corporate manslaughter charges, she said they have "a lot of questions to answer".

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