Who is Ravi Jayaram, Indian-origin doctor who helped catch nurse guilty of killing 7 newborn babies?

Dr Ravi Jayaram did his undergraduate training in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and later worked in the National Health Service for over a decade. (Representational Photo).

Lucy Letby-a nurse at a British hospital- was found guilty by a UK court last week for killing seven newborns and attempting to kill six others during a one-year long campaign of deception which saw the woman prey on vulnerable babies and their parents.

Among those who helped convict the nurse for her crimes was an Indian-origin doctor named Dr Ravi Jayaram who assisted in raising concerns about the deaths and helped in convicting the guilty nurse.

Here's all you need to know about Dr Ravi Jayaram:

• Jayaram works as a consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England. He anchored episodes for the inaugural series of "Accelerating Health" which was a podcast that explored initiatives which helped in supporting health systems during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Jayaram did his undergraduate training in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and later trained in paediatrics in different parts of the UK such as Bristol and London. Later, he worked in the National Health Service for over a decade.
• Jayaram's specialty includes several aspects of child health but he takes a  specific interest in lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and asthma. Additionally, he also helps in medical education and care of unwell children, as well as in behavioural paediatrics.

EXCLUSIVE: The doctor who helped catch Britain’s worst baby killer.

Dr Ravi Jayaram spent two years pleading with hospital managers to investigate Lucy Letby.

Instead, they made him apologise and attend mediation with her.

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pic.twitter.com/yhX9ZBpYn5

— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) August 18, 2023

• In an interview to ITV news, Jayaram said that the first signs of trouble were seen in June 2015 when three babies died. When more babies started to die, it became a matter of grave concern for hospital authorities.

“That is a night that is etched on my memory and will be in my nightmares forever.”

Dr Ravi Jayaram told me his suspicions about Letby were confirmed when he walked in on the nurse attending to a baby one evening.

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Here’s his account of what happened.pic.twitter.com/7kMuuriDQ3

— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) August 18, 2023

• Just under two years later, in April 2017, the NHS permitted doctors to speak with police officials over the deaths of babies. "The police, after listening to us for less than 10 minutes, realised that this is something that they had to be involved with. I could have punched the air," Jayaram said.
• The police began investigating the matter which led to the eventual arrest of Letby.