Chief executive of NHS trust, where Lucy Letby worked, awarded £1.4m payout for unfair dismissal

A former chief executive of the Countess of Chester NHS Trust, where Lucy Letby worked, has been awarded £1.4m in damages.

Dr Susan Gilby took her case for unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal after she was suspended 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.

The British Medical Association (BMA) criticised what it called the "appalling behaviour" of the trust and described the payout as one of the largest ever made to a former NHS employee.

Dr Gilby took over at the Countess of Chester NHS Trust, weeks after child killer Letby was arrested in 2018, and led the organisation through the pandemic.

Speaking about her treatment by the trust and the outcome of her case, Dr Gilby said: "I am deeply saddened that, having raised a protected disclosure in good faith, I was treated in such an appalling manner that I had no choice other than to seek justice.

"I am yet to receive any meaningful apology from the trust for the harm caused to me or for the needless ending of my career.

"No amount of money can compensate me for the devastation of losing my career in this appalling manner."

Her tribunal heard that in July 2022, the former CEO submitted a grievance against Mr Haythornthwaite over bullying, harassment and "undermining behaviour".

Ian Radford, lead solicitor on the team acting for Dr Gilby, said the trust had agreed to pay £1.4m to Dr Gilby but that a further hearing in February had been scheduled to consider legal costs.

He told Sky News: "There are, sadly, numerous other NHS whistleblowers, many of whom have little hope of securing the justice that Dr Gilby has finally secured for the appalling way she was treated.

"Even now, the trust has consciously refused to make any apology for how it has acted."

Read more from Sky News:
Managers linked to Letby hospital arrested
Lucy Letby will never be released
Terminally ill man was told he was okay

Dr Tom Dolphin, BMA council chair, said in a statement that there needed to be a change in the "corrosive" culture in the NHS.

"This should serve as a warning to others that the shameful treatment of whistleblowers can lead to consequences in the law courts.

"The horrific scale of this cover-up shows the length that some trusts are willing to go to in an attempt to silence doctors."

The Countess of Chester NHS Trust has been contacted for comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Chief executive of NHS trust, where Lucy Letby worked, awarded £1.4m payout for unfair di