Nurse who failed to check patient found guilty in death of 22-year-old girl

In Great Britain, the court examined the case related to the death of 22-year-old Amy Barber in a psychiatric hospital. According to the investigation, a nurse who failed to monitor the patient according to established procedures and subsequently entered false information about it was found guilty.

It is reported that Amy had been treated for emotionally unstable personality disorder and eating disorders since the age of 14. Due to observed suicide attempts during her adolescence, she was later transferred to the Brooklands Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit located on the grounds of Clatterbridge Hospital in Wirral.

On June 30, 2022, Amy was supposed to be monitored by medical staff every five minutes. On that day, the on-duty mental health nurse Lawrence Chapong gave the girl a towel at 20:15 and left the room. Twenty-five minutes later, another nurse distributing medication found Amy unresponsive when she entered her room.

According to investigative materials, the nurse was required to check the patient's condition every five minutes through the observation window, monitoring her wakefulness and ensuring she had not self-harmed. However, surveillance cameras showed that he had failed to meet these requirements.

Despite this, the nurse recorded in the observation log at least ten times that he had checked the patient and seen her awake. Later, he told management that Amy had asked for an apple and a towel, but CCTV footage did not confirm this information.

Although doctors promptly rushed Amy to Arrowe Park Hospital, she had suffered severe brain damage and passed away on July 4, 2022.

Liverpool Crown Court found nurse Lawrence Chapong guilty of willful neglect. The defense admitted that the nurse did not check the patient after 20:15, but explained this by claiming he was busy with other duties and other patients. His sentencing is expected to be announced on September 1.

The deceased's mother, Sue Barber, remembered her daughter as a kind, knowledgeable, and talented person. She stated that Amy had achieved 11 A's in school, carried the Olympic Torch in 2012, and saved the lives of four people as an organ donor after her death.

Following the trial, the mother emphasized that the nurse's negligence had cost her daughter her life and expressed hope that a fair punishment would be handed down.