Jury to Decide Fate of Nurse Accused of Murdering Babies

**Julia Liou**, RN

Lucy Letby, a 33-year-old former NICU nurse, is currently under trial for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others in Countess of Chester Hospital in north-west England between June 2015 to June 2016.

Beginning in October 2022, the trial will end after six months in May 2023. Evidence has so far shown that Letby felt incompetent and had thoughts of suicide. She has denied the murders, and her defense officially began on May 2.

Broadcasting live on BBC News this past week, Letby's case has shed light on some crucial nursing issues.

From a nursing perspective, there are some essential takeaways regarding imposter syndrome, determining fitness to practice, and advocating for proper support and training to support mental health and burnout.

Imposter Syndrome in Nursing

According to the BBC, the police found a note that Letby wrote that read, "I am evil. I did this.”

After questioning Letby regarding the note, she said, "I felt at the time that if I'd done something wrong, I must be such an evil, awful person... I'd somehow been incompetent and had done something wrong which had affected those babies.”

According to a study by the Journal of Clinical Nursing, about 35-75% of nurses experience a feeling of imposter syndrome at some point in their careers.

Imposter syndrome is a feeling of self-doubt and inadequacy, despite having the necessary skills and qualifications to do the job. As a nurse, it is normal to experience episodes of not being good enough and that we are frauds, but it's essential to take measures to tackle imposter syndrome.

Fitness to Practice and Coping with Mental Health

Letby informed the jury, "There were times I did not want to live. I thought I was killing myself.”

She informed the jury that after a death of a baby, "[the hospital] encouraged you to go back into a nursery [where a baby has died] as soon as possible... because you have to carry on," thus leaving her with no formal support to cope after the death of her patient.

She was later diagnosed with PTSD and was prescribed antidepressants.

Related: Top Causes and Symptoms of Nursing Staff Burnout and Ways to Help Reduce The Burnout

A study on mental illness among Canadian nurses had the following findings:

36.4% of respondents screened positive for Major Depressive Disorder
23% screened positive for PTSD
26.1% screened positive for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
1 in 3 nurses reported having suicidal thoughts (ideation) (33%)

Based on the case of Letby, and the prevalence of mental illness in the nursing profession, it is imperative that nurses learn mechanisms to cope with stressors and trauma in the workplace and advocate for the proper support and training to tackle burnout.

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · May 3

I frequently have feelings of incompetence and have had thoughts of suicide.

Never once had the urge to murder a patient let alone 7

'I frequently feel like I want to hurt people and have decided to act on it ' FIFY

mtmkjr, BSN · May 6

It's one thing to have suspicion against you that your actions killed a patient, and I would understand if there was discussion about mental health side of things.

It's another thing to be on trial for killing seven babies. What in the world. If the evidence shows that she did this, that is far beyond mental illness and into the realm of evil

MaxAttack, BSN, RN · May 6

I'm not entirely sure what the point of this article is. To me this seems to be another instance in a disturbing trend of making excuses for dangerous individuals that should never be allowed to practice again.

There are just terrible people out there. In every profession. We need to accept that and get rid of them when they're found out. Imposter syndrome and serial killer are not synonymous.

Quotes from https://people.com/crime/lucy-letby-trial-what-to-know/

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In one instance, Dr. Jayaram claimed that he observed Letby standing over an infant whose breathing tube was dislodged, watching the baby's oxygen levels dropping and doing nothing. The doctor intervened, but the baby died three days later.

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In the instance of Child E — an infant who weighed less than 3 lbs. and another one of Letby's alleged victims — his mother testified that she found her son in a state of distress, bleeding from the mouth, but Letby dismissed her concerns. "Trust me, I'm a nurse," the accused killer nurse allegedly said. The infant died five hours later, and Letby is accused of murdering him by injecting air into his bloodstream.

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Later in the trial, Letby's supervisor testified that she observed Letby spending an unusual amount of time with a premature baby whom she wasn't assigned to care for. That baby unexpectedly declined in health and died.

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Another baby, known as Child G, survived three alleged attacks, her parents testified in court in December. They believe Letby intentionally overfed the infant milk and air, leading to "irreversible brain damage" and quadriplegia cerebral palsy.

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · May 7

mtmkjr said:

It's one thing to have suspicion against you that your actions killed a patient, and I would understand if there was discussion about mental health side of things.

It's another thing to be on trial for killing seven babies. What in the world. If the evidence shows that she did this, that is far beyond mental illness and into the realm of evil

IMO having worked in mental health for a long time I can honestly say there are very few people who are so sick they truly don't know right from wrong.

Many don't care, however that doesnt make them not guilty by means of mental disease or defect

Teresa19 · May 10

MaxAttack said:

I'm not entirely sure what the point of this article is. To me this seems to be another instance in a disturbing trend of making excuses for dangerous individuals that should never be allowed to practice again.

There are just terrible people out there. In every profession. We need to accept that and get rid of them when they're found out. Imposter syndrome and serial killer are not synonymous.

Quotes from https://people.com/crime/lucy-letby-trial-what-to-know/

I agree .... We've seen more and more cases where criminals are defended while kids and innocent civilians die or suffer and their stories go completely ignored, all in the name of mental illness.

ton · May 14

I hope the judgement will be done very well, in the Netherlands we had also a case, and the nurse was proven not guilty after quite a time.

it's in dutch, but maybe there is a fitting translation programme:

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaak-Lucia_de_Berk

Jury to Decide Fate of Nurse Accused of Murdering Babies

Imposter Syndrome in Nursing

Fitness to Practice and Coping with Mental Health

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