May 2026: Thirlwall Inquiry report delayed to at least September 2026 · six-baby inquests relisted to 2027 · CCRC review active · Shoo Lee Panel: no medical evidence of deliberate harm.
Institutional explainers
Plain-English explainers covering the institutional dimensions of the Letby case. Each page links to the comprehensive source-linked material on this site. Hospital failings do not by themselves prove innocence — these pages distinguish institutional findings from criminal-evidence questions.
Timeline of governance decisions at the Countess of Chester Hospital 2015–2016 as documented in the Thirlwall Inquiry record.
What the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health invited review (2016) examined, what it concluded, and what its evidential weight is.
What the Care Quality Commission's role was in the Countess of Chester record, and what its 2016 inspection did and did not find.
How consultant concerns about deaths on the unit were raised and escalated through Trust management from 2015 onwards.
What the Thirlwall record shows about executive decision-making at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the indicted period.
How the case was referred to Cheshire Police, and the sequence from Trust escalation to formal investigation.
The Operation Hummingbird investigation timeline, from May 2017 onwards, including the scope decisions and the related Operation Duet.
Context for the July 2025 arrests of three former senior Trust executives on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
What institutional issues fall within the Thirlwall Inquiry's terms of reference, and what falls outside them.