A superbug, doctor shortages and a neonatal unit ‘out of its depth’: failures at Lucy Letby hospital revealed

As the Thirwall hearings approach, the Guardian has discovered concerns were repeatedly raised about alarming shortcomings at Countess of Chester

At Liverpool town hall on Tuesday, a public inquiry will begin into the tragic deaths and collapses of babies eight years ago at the Countess of Chester (CoC) hospital for which the former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder.

One of the inquiry's principal aims is to give the babies' bereaved families a sense that lessons will be learned. Led by the senior court of appeal judge Lady Justice Thirlwall, it will consider the experiences of the parents of Letby's victims, examine whether management at the hospital was too slow to identify a serial killer, and whether Letby should have been suspended earlier and the police called in sooner.