The mother of two boys murdered by Lucy Letby has told a public inquiry she should not have given birth at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the first place.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Thirlwall Inquiry – led by Lady Justice Thirlwall to examine how the 34-year-old neonatal nurse was able to murder seven babies and attempt to murder seven others from June 2015 to June 2016 – has been hearing from families from the criminal trial indictment.

The final statements were read out to the inquiry by Richard Scorer on Wednesday, September 25, on behalf of the parents of Child O, Child P and surviving triplet Child R. A jury found Letby had murdered both Child O and Child P in June 2016, and Manchester Crown Court heard the family pleaded with the transport team to transfer Child R to Liverpool Women's Hospital amid fears that baby would die too.

That criminal trial had also heard that by June 2016, suspicions were increasingly being raised about the rise in neonatal unit deaths at the hospital, and Letby was taken off the unit at the end of the month.

Mother OPR's statement said the hospital was "not honest" with the parents, saying the hospital "knew something untoward was going on" but were still taking on new babies.

"They should not have taken our care in the first place," she added.

Father OPR recalled when a scan revealed they were to have triplets, Mother OPR burst into tears "in shock and excitement", but as the birth date approached, they were told that lack of bed availability could mean the delivery could happen "anywhere", including Birmingham or London, and they "did not expect" it to be in Chester.

They were later inormed beds were available in Chester for the triplets and the delivery took place there. The triplets were initialy said to be "bigger than expected", which left the parents "reassured".

The parents then recalled scenes of "chaos" and "pandemonium" when they were called to the neonatal unit after both Child O and Child P had collapsed and died on consecutive days, with staff "rushing around" and not telling them what was happening.

Father OPR recalled both baby boys had mottling and a 'pot belly' appearance, and said he believed "something was not right", that the hospital had done something wrong. He added both he and Mother OPR had blamed themselves for the deaths of the babies, and they had not been told anything by the hospital – instead being informed of developments by police and their solicitors.

They said communication from the Countess of Chester Hospital was "worse than inadequate – it was non-existent".

The inquiry heard after Child P died, pleas were made to the Liverpool Women's Hospital transport team – originally present to transfer Child P – to take Child R instead.

Father OPR recalled there was a "different level of cleanliness" at the Liverpool hospital, who were also "so thorough" with Child R.

Lady Thirlwall commended the parents for their "quick thinking", even when they would have been "devastated" at the loss of two baby boys, on insisting Child R was transferred to Liverpool, where that baby "thrived" from the moment they got there and "no question...made a huge difference."

Both parents also said as a result of their experiences, they had lost trust in the medical profession.

They added they had followed the criminal trial when they could – Mother OPR was originally due to be called as a witness, but that changed late on. The mother said she was present for the verdict, which came as a "relief" and "justice for her sons", but also "suddenly made everything very real".

Letby, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims.

The inquiry is expected to sit until early 2025, with findings published by late autumn of that year.

A court order prohibits reporting of the identities of the surviving and dead children involved in the case.