Amina Ismail, 20, was found dead in a bedroom at the hospital

Amina Ismail died aged 20 at Cheadle Royal Hospital, also known as the Priory.

An inquest has been opened into the death of another young woman at a hospital where three women of a similar age have died within weeks of one another. Mental health blogger Beth Matthews, 26, Lauren Bridges, 20, and Deseree Fitzpatrick, 30, all died at the at Cheadle Royal Hospital, also known as the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal, last year.

The three deaths at the psychiatric hospital last year are not thought to be linked. They have now been followed by the death of 20-year-old Amina Ismail, who died at the hospital on September 15, 2023 – there is also no current connection known between last year’s deaths and that of Ms Ismail.

An inquest into Ms Ismail’s death was opened at 9am this morning (October 4), as loved ones have described her as the ‘kindest, purest friend you could ever meet’.

Ms Ismail died in one of the bedrooms on Pankhurst ward at the hospital, Stockport Coroners’ Court heard. At the time of her death, she had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act for a number of months, and was under observation every 15 minutes ‘because of concerns about self-harm and ligature risk’.

Ms Ismail was born on June 8, 2003, in Birmingham. She was unemployed at the time of her death ‘due to mental incapacity’, heard the court.

“Amina was detained at the time of her death under section three of the Mental Health Act on Pankhurst ward,” said Alison Mutch, the senior coroner for Manchester south jurisdiction. “She had been a patient on that ward under section three for a number of months.

“I think Amina was not normally a resident of Greater Manchester and had been placed at the Priory as an out-of-area patient.”

The Priory Group’s Cheadle Royal Hospital (Image: M.E.N.)
Amina was to be observed four times an hour, every 15 minutes, ‘because of concerns about self-harm and ligature risk’, the court heard. “Very sadly on the 15th of September at around half past three, she was found unresponsive,” added Ms Mutch.

“Police officers went to Pankhurst ward at Cheadle Royal and staff there confirmed [Ms Ismail’s] identity to them. Police officers and police coroner’s officers confirmed the identity and there are no concerns.

A doctor gave Ms Ismail’s cause of death as hanging. “Clearly an inquest is required into the death of Amina given the information that we’ve heard,” continued Ms Mutch.

The coroner is requesting statements from the hospital and mental health services. A pre-inquest review has been scheduled for January 5, 2024 at 10am.

Amina was found unresponsive in a bedroom at the hospital (Image: Tara Lang)
Friends have shared touching tributes in the wake of Amina’s tragic death. Tara Lang, 22, told the Manchester Evening News: “Amina was the kindest, purest friend you could ever meet, always there for you if you were in need of help or struggling.

“She had an infectious laugh and a smile that could light up the room. We had our favourite song which was called ‘Boys Like You’, an acoustic version.

“She always knew what to say and how to support you. We spent many nights staying up talking about deep stuff and what we wanted for our future – she was the best friend you could ever have and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Amina and Tara (Image: Tara Lang)
Fellow friend Lauryn Bailey said Amina ‘really was the most amazing person, honestly I don’t know what life will be like without her here’.

“I met Amina when I was a patient at Cheadle Royal Priory. She was the kindest person I have ever met, her heart was so pure and she only wanted the best for everybody,” said Lauryn.

“She had a hard life but never let that stop her from supporting anybody who needed it. She had the most contagious laugh and a beautiful smile that would give a feeling of warmth.

“She was there for me whenever I needed her, when I left Cheadle we would often stay awake throughout the night on the phone and talk about everything. She saved my life on one occasion and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

Amina and friend, Lauryn (Image: Lauryn Bailey)
“Amina was my best friend , somebody I never imagined existed in this world , she had the purest of hearts,” continued Lauryn. “She was hilarious, always laughing and making jokes.

“She had a fantastic sense of humour, I think that’s how she coped with everything. She came up with some hilarious nicknames for me, she will be somebody I will miss forever.”

Beth Matthews
Serious concerns were raised by coroners after the deaths of three women last year at the Priory. Beth Matthews, originally from Cornwall, was a blogger with a ‘massive’ online following. An inquest concluded that neglect by staff at the hospital contributed to her death by suicide.

She died on March 21, 2022 after ingesting a poisonous substance she ordered online. She had collapsed in front of staff members at the hospital, where she was a patient after being detained under the Mental Health Act. She had told them it was protein powder.

As Beth’s inquest concluded, the Priory said: “Although unexpected deaths are extremely rare, we recognise that every loss of life in our care is a tragedy.

“We fully accept the jury’s findings and acknowledge that far greater attention should have been given to Beth’s care plan. At the time of Beth’s unexpected death, we took immediate steps to address the issues around how we document risk and communicate patients’ care plans, alongside our processes for receiving and opening post.

“Patient safety is our utmost priority and we will now review the Coroner’s comments in detail and make all necessary, additional changes to our policies and procedures.”

Deseree Fitzpatrick (Image: Ison Harrison Solicitors)
Just weeks before, on January 23, Deseree Fitzpatrick, another patient at the Cheadle Royal Hospital, died after being found unresponsive in her room. She had been admitted just days before due to risks of self-harm and for alcohol detoxification.

The 30-year-old had been living in sheltered accommodation after being the victim of domestic violence and was diagnosed with Emotional Unstable Personal Disorder (EUPD). Deseree was taking a number of medications from her GP, but was then prescribed a number of additional drugs, the majority of which had a central nervous depressant effect.

The five-day inquest before HM Coroner Andrew Bridgeman found she had choked in her sleep after being given inappropriate medication which had caused ‘significant sedation’. The coroner said there was insufficient consideration of ‘polypharmacy’ and that the medication regime was inappropriate.

The inquest also heard there were missed opportunities for a review of that regime and that she was given so much medication that it resulted in profound sedation and the loss of her gag reflex.

A spokesperson for the Priory apologised following Deseree’s death.

Lauren had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD)

A month later, on February 24, Lauren Bridges also died. From Bournemouth, she was a patient 250 miles from home on a secure ward at the Stockport hospital after needing to be transferred to a ‘more secure’ unit. Her mum Lindsey paid tribute to her ‘beautiful and brave’ daughter and claimed Lauren was ‘failed by a system that should have helped and supported her’.

The 20-year-old was found unconscious in her en-suite bathroom at the Priory’s Cheadle Royal Hospital at around 10pm on February 24 last year. She was rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital with her family making the six-hour journey to be at her bedside.

Concluding, the jury said Lauren’s self-harm was a ‘cry for help due to a lack of family contact’. During her evidence, Lindsey said the family had ‘significant concerns about the care she received at Cheadle Royal, particularly in relation to night agency staff and the lack of compassion shown by staff’.

She said her daughter was ‘regularly threatened by’ and ‘lived in fear’ of other patients, including one who she claimed had threatened to kill her. She also claimed her daughter was once able to escape the residential facility in just a hospital gown and that at one point she ‘had all her possessions taken away from her’ and was ‘told she had to earn them back’ by staff.

A Priory spokesperson said there is now a ‘stronger and more proactive process for patients whose discharge from hospital is delayed’ and ‘continued investment in making our wards safer’ with the hospital ‘fitting all our psychiatric intensive care units with fabric ‘anti-ligature’ en-suite bathroom doors’.

The hospital has also received a damning report from the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission. However, the Priory has disputed the findings of that report.