Lucy Letby trust pays £1.4m to whistleblower former chief executive

Credit: PA Wire/Richard McCarthy

By Claudia Tanner

The former chief executive of the hospital trust where Lucy Letby worked has been awarded £1.4 million in damages after winning a landmark employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

Dr Susan Gilby sued the Countess of Chester NHS Trust after she was suspended from her position in December 2022.

In February 2025, the tribunal ruled that Dr Gilby had been forced out of her job after lodging a formal whistleblowing complaint about the trust's then chairman, Ian Haythornthwaite.

Dr Gilby took charge at the trust in 2018, just weeks after Lucy Letby, the neonatal nurse later convicted of murdering multiple babies, was arrested. She led the organisation through the pandemic.

In July 2022, she submitted a grievance against Mr Haythornthwaite, accusing him of bullying, harassment and "undermining behaviour".

Dr Susan Gilby (Credit: Countess of Chester NHS Trust)

The tribunal heard that during settlement negotiations, Dr Gilby was required to withdraw her allegations against the chairman – a demand she firmly rejected. In an email presented to the tribunal, she wrote: “The requirement that I must withdraw the allegations of bullying, harassment and intimidation I made against the chairman is an absolute red line for me.