A specialist doctor who works at the Royal Free Hospital was asked to investigate baby deaths in the Lucy Letby case.
Former neonatal nurse Letby was this week sentenced to a whole life sentence for killing seven newborns and attempting to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
It emerged during the trial that NHS managers in Cheshire ignored warnings from consultants that Letby was the "common denominator" in all the deaths.
In June 2016, the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust's medical directer Ian Harvey was under pressure from consultants who wanted deaths and unexplained collapses investigated.
Rather than go to the police, Mr Harvey invited the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Heath (RCPCH) to review the neonatal unit's service level. They visited the hospital in September that year.
In October 2016 Mr Harvey also contacted Dr Jane Hawdon, a premature baby specialist at the Royal Free Hospital, and asked her to review the case notes of babies who had died on the neonatal unit.
But when contacted this week for explanation, the Royal Free directed enquiries to the Countess of Chester Trust, which would only say it was inappropriate to comment at this time.
The Ham&High is making a Freedom of Information request to see the content of communication between Mr Harvey and Dr Hawdon.
The RCPCH reported back to Mr Harvey and trust chief executive Tony Chambers, its chief executive, that what happened "appears unusual and needs further inquiry to try to explain the cluster of deaths".
It recommended a forensic review of each death but it never happened.
Dr Hawdon produced what the BBC described as "a highly caveated report", writing that it was "intended to inform discussion and learning, and would not necessarily be upheld in a coroner's court or court of law".
She also recommended that four of the baby deaths be forensically investigated.
When approached by the Ham &High about the review, why it was contacted and what information it was given, the Royal Free Hospital said: "All queries related to this matter should go to the Countess of Chester Hospital."
Jane Tomkinson, acting chief executive officer at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Following the trial of former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, the Trust welcomes the announcement of an independent inquiry by the Department of Health and Social Care.
"In addition, the trust will be supporting the ongoing investigation by Cheshire Police. Due to ongoing legal considerations, it would not be appropriate for the Trust to make any further comment at this time.”
In a Freedom of Information request, this paper has asked for all correspondence held by the trust between Mr Harvey and Dr Hawdon, between October 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018, a copy of Dr Hawdon’s report, details of any directions to Dr Hawdon about the scope of her review and the case notes sent by Mr Harvey to Dr Hawdon.
The Government has promised a non-statutory inquiry into the death, but it has no power to compel witnesses to give evidence.
Grieving parents and politicans including the Labour leader and Holburn & St Pancras MP Sir Keir Starmer are calling for a statutory inquiry.
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