A BABY allegedly attacked by Hereford nurse Lucy Letby “came on in leaps and bounds” as soon as she was treated at a different hospital, her parents have said.

The mother of the six-week premature girl said she “improved dramatically almost as soon as she arrived” at Wirral’s Arrowe Park Hospital.

Child H, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was transferred after she suffered two collapses at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neo-natal unit.

The prosecution say Letby, 32, was responsible for the incidents on successive night shifts in the early hours of September 26 and 27 2015.

Letby is on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of murdering seven babies and trying to murder 10 others on the unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

The trial resumed yesterday (January 18) after the Christmas break.

In a statement read to the court, Child H’s mother said she was recovering in the maternity unit on September 26 when nurses came in to her room and told her she had to come “right away” to the neo-natal unit”.

She said: “They were actually running along the corridor. I was taken a short cut around the back of the maternity unit. I kept asking questions but they said I had to come now.”

Lots of medical personnel were around her daughter, she said, and the lid of her incubator was open.

She said: “It was obvious to me they were resuscitating her. They told me to go in to the room and just sit with her and hold her hand which I did.”

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Staff managed to get her daughter back, said Child H’s mother, but were not able to explain why she suffered a sudden cardiac collapse.

Her husband, who had travelled from the family home, stated: “I definitely remember Lucy being there as she was doing the chest massages.”

He added his daughter was a “very strange colour” and “very mottled”.

Child H’s father said a consultant told them he “could not guarantee” it would not happen again or that she would make it through the night.

Jurors heard that Child H stabilised throughout the day as her parents stayed with her before they eventually left to get some sleep in the parents’ room.

Child H’s mother said they had just gone to bed when they heard a knock on the door and staff told them they were needed back in the unit because their daughter was not responding.

She said: “We were met with an almost identical scene with multiple members of staff working with (Child H) in her incubator.”

She said it took less time for her daughter to recover following more medical intervention and soon after she was transferred to Arrowe Park.

Numerous tests were carried out there to try to establish the cause of the collapses, the court heard.

A brain scan showed Child H had suffered no long-term damage.

Child H’s mother said: “It was clear to us that (Child H) improved dramatically almost as soon as she arrived at Arrowe Park.

“I would say she was like a completely different baby once at Arrowe Park.”

Her husband stated: “She was only there a few days but she was just like a different baby, She was more responsive, She was more with it. She just came on in leaps and bounds.”

Child H was moved back to the Countess of Chester Hospital and discharged the following month after she continued to improve.

Her mother said her daughter has been “absolutely fine and healthy since”.

More than an hour before Child H’s second collapse, Letby messaged a colleague – who cannot be identified for legal reasons: “I forgot to record strictly tonight x And BBC iPlayer doesn’t work on my iPad.”

In a separate exchange the next day, Letby messaged another colleague, Dr Alison Ventress, on Facebook.

She wrote: “(Child H) had resus again but not as bad as with us. Went to Arrowe.”

The registrar replied: “Oh crap. Do they know why she did it this time? I’m glad she’s been transferred! How are you? Really rough set of nights for you. Xxx”

Letby said: “No did exactly what she did for us, desat then didn’t pick up & dropped heartrate. Looked fine again after though but made decision to transfer which I think was sensible! X”

Dr Ventress went on: “Try to think of all the babies you’ve saved and have gone home happily with their parents. You’re a fab nurse. Hope you manage some sleep xxx”

The defendant responded: “Thanks Ali Xx”

Letby, originally from Hereford, denies all the allegations.

In his opening address to jurors, Ben Myers KC, defending, said Child H was another example of “sub-optimal care” by the Countess of Chester and was “nothing to do with Lucy Letby”.

The trial continues on Thursday.

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