We got it wrong on Letby, nursing regulator admits

New Nursing and Midwifery Council chief apologises over failure to investigate sexual misconduct claims and admits killer nurse Lucy Letby should have been suspended earlier

- REBECCA THOMAS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

The new chief of the UK’s crisis-hit nursing watchdog has admitted it got things “completely wrong” following a series of revelations by The Independent exposing a “toxic” culture in which rogue nurses were free to work in the NHS.

In his first national interview as head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), Paul Rees apologised for a string of scandals that have dogged the watchdog and prompted a major overhaul of the beleaguered organisation.

He admitted the regulator - which is responsible for overseeing nearly 800,000 nurses, midwives and nursing associates in the UK - had got its handling of sexual misconduct cases “completely wrong” when it refused to investigate nurses who had been accused of committing sexual assault outside of work.

He also conceded the body should have suspended Lucy Letby when she was first arrested. The NMC failed to suspend the nurse until she was charged with a series of shocking crimes a year later, blaming a loophole in its guidance. Mr Rees has now admitted that was wrong, after this publication uncovered a secret report into failings over the convicted killer’s treatment.

He told The Independent: “We have to be honest about things that have gone wrong. And things have gone wrong in the past.”

Ten months into his role, Mr Rees insists the watchdog, the largest professional regulator in Europe, has undergone a major change of its leadership team. But he warned it could take years to turn around the organisation, which was found in an independent review to have a “dysfunctional” and “toxic” culture due to evidence of racism and sexism within its ranks.

His comments come after a series of revelations by The Independent into allegations the regulator was failing to act on referrals against nurses accused of sexual misconduct and racism.