Three people have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, in relation to events surrounding the murder of seven babies by Lucy Letby at a hospital trust in the North West of England.
The individuals, who were all senior leaders at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust when Letby – who is serving life in prison – carried out the killings during 2015 and 2016.
All three were arrested on 30 June, in relation to elevated neonatal mortality rates at the trust in those two years, and have since been released on bail pending further investigations, Cheshire Constabulary said.
Detective superintendent Paul Hughes said: “This is a separate offence to corporate manslaughter and focuses on the grossly negligent action or inaction of individuals.
“It is important to note that this does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder.
The arrests came after Cheshire Constabulary widened its corporate manslaughter investigation at the Countess of Chester to include gross negligence manslaughter earlier this year.
Gross negligence manslaughter
An offence of gross negligence manslaughter is when a grossly negligent act, or omission, on the part of an individual leads to death, or deaths.
This can include death following medical treatment or care where a healthcare professional is responsible, deaths in the workplace where anyone connected with the workplace is responsible, or a death in custody.
It must be found that the individual owed a duty of care to someone, was negligent or omitted to act on this duty of care, and that this caused a death, and that the act or omission constitutes gross negligence.
Gross negligence manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Corporate manslaughter
Corporate manslaughter is committed when “very serious failings” on the part of companies and other organisations lead to death, or deaths.
For a company to be found liable, it must be proven that a gross breach of a duty of care happened, and that senior management failings “must have formed a substantial element” of this breach.
It must also be proven that this breach of a duty was “causative” of death.
Unlike gross negligence manslaughter, an individual cannot be prosecuted for this offence; the organisation itself acts as defendant.
Organisations found guilty face fines of between £180,000-£20m.
Information via the Crown Prosecution Service
Mr Hughes said that both aspects of Operation Duet, the name under which the organisation is investigating the alleged crimes, were continuing with “no set timescales” for them.
Further investigations are ongoing into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neonatal units of Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital between 2012 and 2016, Mr Hughes added.
The identities of the individuals arrested this week have not been released by Cheshire Constabulary, which warned against speculation.
