Lucy Letby: Mother shocked at baby's collapse, trial hears

The mother of a baby who was allegedly attacked by nurse Lucy Letby said she was "totally and utterly just shocked" when her infant collapsed suddenly.

Ms Letby is accused of attempting to murder the girl, known as Child J, at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015.

Manchester Crown Court heard the baby's collapse was consistent with some form of obstruction of the airways, such as smothering.

Ms Letby denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others.

It is alleged the 33-year-old tried to kill Child J, who was born prematurely, on the neonatal unit in November 2015.

The court heard how Child J appeared to be well at first but then problems with her bowel became apparent and she was moved to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool for emergency surgery.

The jury was told Child J had a condition called necrotising enterocolitis, where a portion of the bowel becomes inflamed, as well as a perforated bowel.

Baby J needed two stomas, where part of the bowel is left outside the body to allow it to rest after surgery.

After 10 days, she was taken back to the Countess of Chester's neonatal unit.

Child J's mother said staff at Alder Hey had communicated well with the family, but the staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital did not take their concerns seriously.

She recounted one occasion when she arrived to find her daughter wrapped in a towel covered in faeces and added that she and her husband had to prompt staff about Child J's medication.

After four weeks at the hospital, the parents told the court how they were preparing to bring Child J home when they received a call that their baby had collapsed.

Child J's mother said when they arrived at the hospital, they found the girl in an incubator and she "looked very floppy", "pale and yellow in colour" and was "not very responsive".

The jury has previously been told that a prosecution expert believes she may have been smothered.

"We were totally and utterly just shocked because prior to this she was extremely well," the mother told the court.

"She was coming home. We were preparing for her to come home.

"Everything other than weight gain was fine," she added.

The court heard that after care from nurses, the baby recovered quickly but the cause of her collapse was not known at that stage.

Child J's mum told the court that she was "very stressed" by what she was seeing and experiencing.

When asked by Ben Myers KC, defending, if staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital had the same competence and ability to deal with Child J's stoma bags as the staff at Alder Hey, the mother replied: "No."

The trial continues.

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