Parents of Lucy Letby’s victims have claimed they were “fobbed off” by the Countess of Chester Hospital’s then-medical director when they contacted him about their concerns.
The accusation was levelled against Dr Ian Harvey by Slater and Gordon, the legal firm acting on behalf of some of the children targeted by the former nurse in 2015 and 2016.
On Monday, Letby was jailed for life for the murders of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay on Friday announced plans for an independent inquiry which will, among other things, look at the way in which senior executives handled concerns raised by clinicians after the spate of deaths and injuries at the neonatal unit where Letby worked.
In a strongly-worded statement issued this morning, Richard Scorer, Slater and Gordon’s Head of Abuse and Public Inquiries, said: “Our clients received a series of anodyne letters from Harvey containing no proper explanation or clarification.
“The letters invited them to contact Harvey for more explanation and they tried to contact him repeatedly, but despite many attempts to get through to him they never received a return call.”
Mr Scorer continued: “Our clients have described his response as a ‘total fob off’.
“It seems that Harvey had little interest in passing any meaningful information to the parents, responding properly to any of their concerns, or complying with any duty of candour to them.
“In our view this failure to address parental concerns was shameful and another matter which needs to be investigated by a statutory inquiry with the power to compel witnesses and the production of documents.”
Dr Harvey retired from his post at the Chester hospital in August 2018, just weeks after Letby’s arrest in July 2018 – although he had signalled his intention to stand down months earlier.
The former orthopaedic surgeon, who is understood to have been on an annual salary of £175,000, retired with a pension pot worth an estimated £1.8million.
At the time, he admitted in a statement to the hospital’s board in which he referenced former hospital CEO Tony Chambers: “There is no doubt this team has been tested. It’s all Tony’s fault.
“I think a couple of years ago he said ‘Well, it’s all been fairly easy hasn’t it? We haven’t really been tested’ – we have.”
Neighbours in Cheshire have said Dr Harvey moved to the south of France shortly after his retirement.
In a statement issued to The Guardian in response, Dr Harvey said: “Having read the heart-rending victim impact statements, I know how desperate the parents are for answers and I will help them as best I can at the inquiry.
“I’m sorry they felt fobbed off. I wanted to give detailed and accurate answers, but this was difficult while the reviews and investigations were taking place. Once the police were involved, we were advised by them not to say or do anything that might jeopardise their investigation.”
In a statement previous statement issued on Friday, he pledged to co-operate with the independent inquiry ordered by the Government, which will look at how senior executives handled concerns raised by clinicians following the spate of deaths at the unit.
He said: “At this time, my thoughts are with the babies whose treatment has been the focus of the trial, and with their parents and relatives who have been through something unimaginable, and I am sorry for all their suffering.
“As medical director, I was determined to keep the baby unit safe and support our staff.
“I wanted the reviews and investigations carried out, so that we could tell the parents what had happened to their children.
“An inquiry has been announced and I will help it in whatever way I can.”
