Could MedTech ever stop a hospital killer in their tracks?

Their analysis showed that a FSK was likely to be white, Christian, average looking or attractive, and in her twenties or thirties – very similar to Letby but also to many of her colleagues.

So, while profiling may have identified Letby as a potential serial killer, it would also have identified many other nurses or medical professionals who would never dream of harming another human being.

But could advances in medical technology and diagnostics offer more effective possibilities to identify signs of malicious intent among healthcare staff, ensuring early intervention to prevent patient harm?

In the context of preventing hospital scandals, these could play a pivotal role in identifying potential signs of harm or negligence. Automated systems can already continuously monitor patient vitals, medication administration, and treatment responses, alerting clinicians to deviations from expected patterns.

Letby killed and harmed babies by injecting them with air and insulin and by overfeeding them. Dr Dewi Evans, a clinical expert who provided medical evidence that resulted in Letby's conviction for seven murders and six attempted murders, reviewed clinical notes of more than 30 babies who had either died or collapsed between January 2015 and July 2016.

In most cases, the cause of death was identified as natural explainable, for example after suffering a haemorrhage, infection or because of a congenital problem.

However, in the cases of 15 babies, their collapse was unexpected and could not be explained as natural.

Several of the babies had evidence of an air embolism, as if someone had injected air into their circulation directly. Others displayed signs of having had milk, or milk and air, injected directly into their stomachs, had high levels of insulin in their systems or they showed signs of having suffered direct trauma, with traces of blood found around their mouths or at the back of their throat.

Evans said staff were only alerted to the insulin poisoning, after re-examining a set of twins who had been harmed in other ways.

He said: "This was a complete shock to me and a complete surprise – but it was quite important because, at last, one could find some kind of smoking gun.

"In other words, one could now show that someone was causing harm to babies, whereas with the injection of air, unless someone sees you doing it, it would have been difficult to prove that these babies were placed in harm's way."

It is clear that early detection of irregularities in medication administration, patient responses, or mortality rates should have triggered investigations and interventions earlier, potentially identifying anomalies and prompting timely actions to prevent further harm.