Context
Nurse Yvonne Farmer gave Thirlwall Inquiry evidence on the Countess of Chester neonatal unit’s workflow, handover practices, staffing patterns, and the collective nursing-staff perception of the consultants’ concerns as they escalated through 2015 and into 2016. Her evidence contributes to the documentary picture of the unit’s routine operation and the collective nursing response to the concerns raised.
What the evidence addresses
- The nursing-staff workflow and rota patterns on the neonatal unit during 2015-2016.
- The handover practices between shifts — a central part of the circumstantial case at trial, where the Crown argued that Letby’s retention of handover sheets supported the ‘trophy’ theory. Farmer’s evidence addresses baseline nursing practice on handover retention.
- The collective nursing-staff perception of the concerns as they accumulated: what was discussed on the unit, what the nursing team understood about the consultants’ escalations, and what reached the floor via informal communication.
- Specific interactions Farmer had with Ms Letby during the indictment period, and her professional assessment of Ms Letby as a colleague and clinician.
Why this evidence matters
The nursing-floor evidence layer is distinct from the consultant-level and executive-level evidence layers. It provides the ground-level picture of what the unit was like day-to-day during the cluster. The nursing-behaviour baseline evidence relies on this layer of testimony; Farmer’s evidence contributes to the picture of what was normal practice on the unit.
Read alongside
Nurse Bissell, Nurse Hudson, Eirian Powell (Ward Manager), Nursing-behaviour baseline, Handover sheets denominator.