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Nurse Jailed for Patient's Death After Faking Checks
1 Sep
Summary
- Nurse jailed for four years for wilful neglect of a patient.
- Records were falsified, showing checks that never occurred.
- Patient's mother urged caregivers to learn from the tragedy.
A mental health nurse, Laurence Tchapong, has received a four-year prison sentence for the wilful neglect of a patient, Amy Barber, 22, who died by suicide. Tchapong was responsible for checking Ms. Barber every five minutes at the Brooklands psychiatric intensive care unit but deliberately falsified records on June 30, 2022, suggesting checks had occurred. In reality, CCTV showed Tchapong had not monitored Ms. Barber for 25 minutes. Ms. Barber, who had a complex mental health history and had been detained under the Mental Health Act, was found unresponsive by a colleague and could not be saved.
Sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Murray stated that Tchapong had "deliberately lied" in the observation records to evade justice. The judge noted that Tchapong held a grudge against Ms. Barber, stemming from her having previously complained about Tchapong and taken photos of her sleeping. Tchapong had previously received a verbal warning for similar conduct. Amy Barber's mother, Susan Barber, described her daughter as a bright and caring individual, lamenting that a system that let her down had taken her drive away and urged caregivers to learn from the incident. Tchapong's defense claimed understaffing and additional duties, but the jury rejected these arguments.
