Nurses describe 'chaotic' ward before teen's death

A nurse who found a teenager unresponsive at a mental health unit has described the ward as "busy and chaotic", with several young people requiring high levels of support.

Lucy Curtis, 17, died in hospital on 1 January 2024, five days after she was found unresponsive at the Riverside Adolescent Unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol.

Psychiatric nurse Laura May, who was working on the ward on 27 December, told the inquest It was not helped by the surprise arrival of three shadow staff.

Earlier in the inquest Lucy's father Barry Curtis told jurors that he and his wife had raised concerns about an item they feared Lucy could use to harm herself. The inquest continues.

Curtis said they asked staff to search her room but were told they could not do so because she was a voluntary patient.

Asked about those concerns, May said searches were subject to restrictions because of issues around privacy and dignity.

She said patients could not simply be strip-searched.

The court heard Lucy returned to the Riverside unit on 27 December after spending time at home over Christmas.

May said she did not recall being told about a number of life-threatening incidents that had taken place in the hours before the shift handover.

The nurse described the ward as "busy and chaotic" that morning, with several young people requiring high levels of support and the unexpected arrival of three agency shadow workers.

The jury heard Lucy remained on observations every 15 minutes rather than one-to-one supervision.

Questioned about why she had not increased the level of observation, May said she was trying to assess Lucy using the information available to her at the time.

Another mental health nurse, Amy Brown, also described the ward where she was carrying out Lucy Curtis's 15-minute observations as 'chaotic'.

Brown said she found her with a harmful object during a check at 09:16, prompting her to raise the alarm.

Later, when Lucy was found unresponsive in her bathroom, Brown said: "I remember when I first arrived I tried to feel her pulse on her wrist but could not feel it."

She said her colleague Laura May had identified a pulse in Lucy's neck.

"It felt weak but there was definitely a pulse," Ms Brown said.

She then helped fetch resuscitation equipment, oxygen and a defibrillator before taking part in CPR until paramedics arrived.

Giving wider evidence about conditions on the ward, she said the number of high-risk admissions had increased since she joined the unit and that concerns had been raised about staffing levels.

She told jurors: "It just felt quite chaotic", adding that "because of the nature of the work it felt like there was a lot for us to do. So you have to prioritise."

Brown said nurses were often managing multiple patients on one-to-one observations alongside others on 15-minute checks, and that short staffing created significant pressure despite staff doing their best to keep patients safe.

The inquest continues.

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