Two nurses have been found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of a patient who took her own life at a Guernsey mental health unit. Rory McDermott, 32, and Naomi Prestidge, 30, were acquitted by a majority verdict of 7-2 in Guernsey's Royal Court.
Lauren Ellis, 26, was found dead at the Oberlands mental health unit on 17 October 2017. She had been admitted voluntarily after a history of self-harm and was diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder. The court heard that both nurses admitted failing to conduct required 15-minute welfare checks after 01:00 BST, with CCTV showing them unoccupied and on their phones during that period.
Summing up, Judge Russell Finch noted there had been no similar case in a Guernsey court before. The jury of nine jurats could not agree that the nurses were criminally negligent. The defence argued that senior medical staff did not consider Ms Ellis a 'serious risk' of suicide, and that she had been left unchecked for extended periods earlier in the day by other staff.
Ms Ellis's mother, Dawn, had expressed concerns to Mr McDermott by phone, but was told 'not to worry; we'll keep a close eye on her'. The court also heard that staff on a previous shift had failed to remove an item of risk when Ms Ellis was admitted. The cause of death was ligature strangulation.
