Nurses ‘browsed phones as patient died’

 A vulnerable woman died in a mental health unit while nurses were looking up holidays online and playing on their phones, a court has been told.

Lauren Ellis, 22, was found dead last October after staff failed to complete all of their observations on time. Staff at Oberlands Mental Health Centre on Guernsey are obligated to check up on patients every 15 minutes, however six of these observations were not carried out before her death.

Mental health nurses Rory Mcdermott, 32, and Naomi Prestidge, 31, were arrested following a review of CCTV footage. Guernsey’s Royal Court heard they were filmed browsing the internet for holidays and playing music instead of doing the checks.

Within minutes of the discovery of Miss Ellis’s body, the pair were seen allegedly falsifying reports.

Miss Ellis had arrived as a crisis admission the day before after her self-harm escalated to contain suicidal urges, the court heard. The defendants deny joint manslaughter through gross negligence. The trial continues.