Why his evidence matters
Dr Gibbs was one of the longest-serving consultants on the Countess of Chester unit. His Thirlwall Inquiry evidence is a particularly detailed source on the internal clinical-review meetings in late 2015 and early 2016, the thematic review that identified Letby as the common factor, and the consultants’ collective frustration at the executive response. Together with Dr Brearey’s and Dr Jayaram’s evidence, it forms the consultants’-side institutional record.
Professional background
- Consultant paediatrician, Countess of Chester Hospital. Longest-serving of the consultants who signed the September 2016 letter.
- Co-signatory of the September 2016 joint letter demanding police involvement.
- Witness at the Thirlwall Inquiry (autumn 2024).
The internal-review thread
Dr Gibbs’s evidence walks the Inquiry through the internal-review meetings in which consultants together assessed the cluster. The meetings identified Letby as the common factor and documented specific concerns. The evidence shows the consultants were doing their professional duty in raising concerns; the failure of institutional response was above them, at executive and HR level. See our doctor-nurse power dynamics analysis for how that response pattern propagated through the institution.