Hospital the place schoolgirl, 13, died of sepsis may face legal prosecution after inquest discovered NHS failings contributed to her loss of life
A healthcare watchdog is considering a criminal prosecution after a coroner ruled that neglect by hospital staff contributed to the death of a teenage girl.
Chloe Longster, 13, died from sepsis and pneumonia in November 2022 at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire after being admitted with ‘unbearable’ pain in her ribs.
Following a week-long inquest at Northampton Coroner’s Court earlier this month, assistant coroner Sophie Lomas concluded that there were several ‘missed opportunities’ in Chloe’s care, including delays to her sepsis screening and treatment.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) spokesperson said: ‘We are currently in the process of making inquiries to establish whether there is reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence has been committed.’
‘During Chloe’s last 18 hours on this earth she was in pain and treated with contempt,’ her mother told the inquest
The next month Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors went into the hospital after receiving information about the safety and quality of services. (A general view of Kettering General Hospital)
Her mother Louise Longster said she repeatedly asked medics for help but was treated as a ‘mum who had been on Google ‘ while her daughter was dismissed as a ‘diva teen’
The regulator said inquiries were ongoing and it will report further when it is able to.
Chloe died in ‘unbearable pain’ less than 19 hours after being admitted to Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, in 2022, following a pneumonia diagnosis.
Her mother Louise Longster claimed that a nurse had told her daughter to ‘calm down’ and that she was ‘making her pain worse’ as she suffered from a shortness of breath and began to pant.
University Hospital of Northamptonshire’s group chief nurse, Julie Hogg, said: ‘We continue to offer our deepest condolences to Chloe’s family for their loss and for failing to deliver the care she deserved.
‘We have accepted the findings of the coroner at Chloe’s inquest and, as an organisation committed to learning from our mistakes, are supporting the CQC’s ongoing inquiries appropriately.’
Chloe was a ‘healthy’ teenager who was ‘full of energy’ until she was admitted to a paediatric emergency department with severe pain in her lower ribs and cold-like symptoms.
The teenager, a ‘cherished’ IVF baby and keen dancer, had been sniffly with a cough the weekend prior to her death but had been well enough to attend a sleepover.
Chloe, who hailed from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, also had mild asthma and used inhalers but had never had an asthma attack, according to her parents.
Chloe was diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to the children’s ward at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire
During the inquest’s conclusion on October 11, Ms Lomas said: ‘I do accept on balance that Chloe’s condition, if identified earlier, could have been managed and would have altered the outcome.
‘Her death was contributed to by neglect. There were repeated missed opportunities to recognise and respond to her deteriorating condition.’
Mrs Longster has claimed she was not informed of a sepsis screening and said pain relief for her daughter was ‘delayed’ with the youngster being treated with ‘contempt’ in the final hours of her life.
The 40-year-old added that her daughter was never given an identification bracelet
Speaking before the inquest took place, Chloe’s mother, Louise Longster, said she thinks there ‘should be accountability’.
‘If there are errors that are identified through the coroner’s process and through the CQC in Chloe’s care that go beyond human error, there needs to be accountability,’ she said.
‘There needs to be truth, to prevent it ever happening again because it’s unforgivable. I do believe that duty of candour needs to really be enforced, I would say, however that may be.
‘As relatives, as family, as loved ones, we should have that.’
The now concluded inquest heard that upon her arrival to the hospital, Chloe was triaged and placed in a side room before being given oral Oramorph for her pain.
The teenager, a keen dancer of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, died at the end of November 2022
Chloe Longster (pictured), 13, died after what her parents believe were multiple failures in care and communication
The teenager had a cannula inserted but it fell out whilst she was still in A&E, with her mother and brother later having to take her down to X-ray themselves.
Mrs Longster said last week she saw the X-ray and noticed what she thought was a mass at the bottom of Chloe’s lung.
When she returned to the A&E department the mother was told Chloe had a chest infection.
A doctor prescribed antibiotics and she was given one dose before being admitted to the Skylark Ward.
When on the children’s ward, Mrs Longster said she had to repeatedly ask doctors for more pain relief for her daughter.
‘I remember making a comment that it feels like we are chasing her pain, not getting on top of it,’ she said.
When the nurse returned to do more observations on Chloe, she realised her oxygen level had dropped, with Mrs Longster noting: ‘They initially thought the machine had broken.’
Chloe was moved to a side room with Mrs Longster told this was because she had tested positive for Influenza A, the inquest heard.
A consultant was called and more people began coming into Chloe’s room.
Mrs Longster said: ‘I asked a nurse if she was going to be OK and the nurse said she didn’t know.
‘How I got out of the room I don’t know, but I just remember hitting the floor and being slumped there.
‘It felt like Chloe hadn’t been taken seriously about how unwell she was until that point.
