Lucy Letby trial told of battle to save air-injected baby

Doctors used six doses of adrenaline in a desperate 25-minute battle to resuscitate a baby allegedly attacked by nurse Lucy Letby, her murder trial has heard.

The 33-year-old denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at Countess of Chester Hospital.

The six-week premature boy, referred to as Child M, "dramatically" collapsed at the hospital in April 2016.

The prosecution allege she injected air into the infant's bloodstream.

Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard how an emergency crash call went out to medics to attend Child M at 16:02 BST on 9 April 2016 after he stopped breathing.

Over the next 25 minutes senior doctors and nurses gave CPR and administered dose after dose of adrenaline in a battle to stabilise the infant.

The baby boy improved at around 16:31 and was placed on a ventilator.

Ms Letby, who became the child's dedicated nurse later that evening, noted at 21:14 that he was tensing his limbs, curling his fingers and toes and rotating his hands and feet inwards. Such actions are indicative of the brain having been starved of oxygen.

Brain scans were carried out on Child M but no adverse after-affects were found, the court was told.

The court has previously heard that Child M's twin brother, Child L, also deteriorated beside him at "pretty much the same time".

The prosecution allege that Ms Letby poisoned Child L with a dose of insulin.

When questioned by police in 2019, Ms Letby denied deliberately administering insulin, saying: "That wasn't done by me".

She said to her knowledge neither she nor a nursing colleague had accidentally administered the substance, which had not been prescribed, adding she could not believe such a mistake would have been made.

In his opening address last October to the jury, Ben Myers KC, defending, said there was "nothing in fact" to establish Ms Letby had poisoned Child L and that the collapse of Child M had "no obvious cause".

The twins recovered following the events of 9 April and there were no other problems until they were discharged in early May 2016.

Earlier, Dr Anna Milan, a consultant clinical scientist at Royal Liverpool Hospital, told the court tests on a blood sample from Child L sent to its lab by the Countess of Chester showed the insulin had been given to the patient rather than being naturally produced by the pancreas.

The results were later communicated by phone to the Countess of Chester's biochemistry lab on 14 April.

Jurors were also told that three vials of insulin were issued to the neo-natal unit in 2014, six vials in 2015 and two vials in 2016.

Insulin was kept in a locked fridge in an equipment room but the keys for access would be passed between nurses on duty as and when required, the court heard.

Ms Letby, originally from Hereford, denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others between June 2015 and June 2016.

The trial continues.

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