A nurse claimed she had checked on Amy Barber every five minutes at a psychiatric ward but the 22-year-old was found unresponsive 25 minutes later14:02, 01 Aug 2026The devastated mother of a young woman who died in hospital paid tribute to her girl after a nurse was found guilty of wilfully neglecting her on the night of her death.‌Amy Barber had been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder and an eating disorder at the age of 14. She was transferred to Brooklands Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit, inside the Clatterbridge Hospital in Wirral, years later after a record of self harm during her teen years.‌Amy was due to be checked on every five minutes by staff at the ward but on June 30, 2022, Amy was found unresponsive in her room.‌Registered mental health nurse Laurence Tchapong was in charge of checking on Amy that night and handed her a towel at 8.15pm before leaving. Another nurse, handing out medication at the time, entered Amy's room and found her unresponsive 25 minutes later.Tchapong, who had been working for an agency at the time, was assigned to do "level two checks" which included checking on patients through the window of their bedroom every five minutes, according to the Liverpool Echo. The nurse, from Manchester, was also supposed to see if the patient was awake and to check for signs of self harm.‌CCTV showed Tchapong handing Amy the towel at 8.15pm and Liverpool Crown Court heard another nurse Victoria Connelly had gone to Amy's room at 8.40pm to give her medication but found the 22-year-old unresponsive. Ms Connelly raised the alarm and Amy was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital but she suffered serious brain injured and sadly died on July 4, 2022. Amy had taken her life.Tchapong had signed at least 10 observation entries that night and said she saw Amy awake but CCTV footage revealed this hadn't happened. The nurse had also put down an entry at 8.55pm with a possible question mark and signed it. The nurse later, in a meeting with her superior Gill Judson, claimed the patient asked for an apple at 8.40pm then for a towel five minutes after, so the nurse went to get those items. Tchapong claimed the next thing she knew was the alarms in the ward going off.‌The nurse was also asked about the 8.55pm log but reportedly became distressed. The superior also spoke to Tchapong later and said the nurse recalled the same events but added Amy has been stood brushing her teeth at 8.50pm. On the 8.55pm log the nurse said she understood it looked like an 'A' for awake but had put down a question mark instead, as CPR was being performed on the patient.Tchapong was found guilty of wilfully neglecting Amy Barber after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, according to the ECHO. The nurse's defence said Tchapong accepted she had not checked on Amy after 8.15pm but said this was due to other tasks and other patients. Tchapong is due to be sentenced on September 1.Mum Sue, 59, from Nantwich, shared an emotional tribute to her daughter and said: "She was amazing, she was bright, kind, funny and crazily clever. She got 11 A*s at GCSE and then she got stuck in the mental health system. She was fantastic, I know every mother says that but people would tell me the same thing, she really was.‌"She ran with the Olympic torch in 2012 and was a registered organ donor so after her death she has helped four people." Sue added: "We were as close as a mother and daughter can be. Amy was my person."On Tchapong, the mum said: "Amy was poorly but she wasn't checked on for 25 minutes. She was on five minute checks, which doesn't mean five past, 10 past, but it means she needs to be constantly checked on."The mum added: "She was doing other things rather than looking after my daughter. I hope she gets a decent punishment. We've had to listen to Amy's last hour over and over again during the trial because she pleaded not guilty."Article continues belowWhen life is difficult, Samaritans are available day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org