Datix records — the system that saw a struggling unit
Prosecution claim
The prosecution argued it did not rely on the Datix incident record because, it said, Letby covered her tracks.
Counter-evidence
Datix is the mandatory NHS incident-reporting system — every crash call, equipment failure, deterioration and medication error is supposed to be logged. The 2015–2016 Datix record for the unit — partly examined at the Thirlwall Inquiry — shows a unit under severe clinical strain: staffing gaps, sewage and plumbing failures, late transfers of extremely preterm infants, pharmacy mix-ups. The Panel argues that this picture, which the jury never saw in full, is itself exculpatory: it explains the cluster of deteriorations without a deliberate-harm hypothesis.
The Datix record is evidence not of wrongdoing by one nurse, but of a unit operating outside its safe envelope.
What the jury heard
The jury was largely not shown the full Datix record — the Crown's case didn't rely on it, and the defence's access was limited by disclosure.
What the Panel says
The Panel considers the wider Datix picture consistent with a unit caring for babies beyond its designation. That context is itself alternative explanation.
What independent experts add
- Datix logs a known sewage back-up and related equipment failures in the 2015–16 period.
- Medication dispensing errors are logged against the hospital pharmacy that supplied the unit's TPN.