Hospital which dismissed schoolgirl, 13, with sepsis as a ‘diva teen’ earlier than she died in ‘insufferable ache’ is fined simply £1,250

An NHS Trust which dismissed a schoolgirl suffering from sepsis as a ‘diva teen’ before she died in ‘unbearable pain’ has been fined just £1,250. 

Chloe Longster, 13, passed away in ‘unbearable pain’ in November 2022 following delays in her care at Kettering General Hospital.

The ‘fit and healthy, fun-loving teen’ was admitted to A&E with pneumonia but died 18 hours later after developing sepsis.

Her mother, Louise Longster, said she repeatedly asked medics for help but was treated like a ‘mum who had been on Google‘ while her daughter was brushed off as a ‘diva teen’.

She said her daughter had been in so much pain she asked her whether she was going to die and said: ‘It’s haunting that the 13-year-old was the one who was right.’

But a coroner ruled Chloe’s death was contributed to by neglect, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) fined the NHS Trust £1,250 for failing its ‘duty of candour’. 

Mrs Longster said she is ‘devastated’ to learn there will be no further prosecution involving failings in her care, leaving the family with ‘deep and unresolved concerns’.

Mrs Longster, from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, said: ‘The formal outcome is a small fine.

‘It is heartbreaking to reconcile this with the seriousness of the acts and omissions in Chloe’s case, and with the scale of the investigation that followed.

‘Chloe was taken from us when she should have been safe. She wasn’t.

‘After two years of investigation by the CQC into the circumstances surrounding Chloe’s death, we have been told there will be no prosecution under Regulation 12, on the basis that the evidential threshold has not been met.

‘The CQC has confirmed it identified a breach of the duty of candour (Regulation 22) and has issued the Trust with a fixed penalty notice.

‘We understand this relates to the trust’s failure to contact us until January 12, 2023, despite a serious incident being declared on December 8, 2022.

‘There were serious incidents and omissions that those present would have been aware of at the time, and of the impact these could have on Chloe’s chance of survival.

‘Yet these were not disclosed to us when they occurred. Instead, information emerged slowly over many months.

‘Taken together with the wider evidence, this has left our family with deep and unresolved concerns about how events were handled.

‘Those present would have understood that this constituted a serious notifiable safety incident. For our family, this process has been devastating.

‘At the moment we needed honesty, compassion, and transparency most, we received none of these.

‘Instead, details of Chloe’s care came out gradually, deepening our trauma and leaving us with unanswered questions.

‘Throughout the investigation, we were repeatedly reassured that statutory time limits would not be a factor.

‘Those limits expired on November 27, 2025, effectively closing off other legal avenues.

‘We would have sought legal advice and considered judicial review.

‘Chloe is owed transparency and accountability, as does her brother Tom, her cousins, especially Amelia, and our entire family.

‘Chloe deserved better and families deserve honesty and compassion.’

Louise also told the BBC: ‘The lack of recognition of the gravity of what had happened compounded the sense that Chloe was voiceless, and that neither she nor what happened to her mattered.

‘It’s maddening they’ve only been fined for that. It was and still is utterly heartbreaking.’

Chloe had been complaining of cold and flu symptoms before being taken to A&E.

But Mrs Longster said pain relief for her daughter was ‘delayed’ and in her final hours she had been treated with ‘contempt’.

Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas said at the time of the inquest Chloe might have survived if she had received appropriate treatment earlier.

She said: ‘There were several missed opportunities to recognise Chloe’s deteriorating condition.’

In a statement, Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of hospitals in the Midlands said the £1,250 fine was ‘no way representative of the value of Chloe’s life.’

Ms Jenkinson said: ‘We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of 13-year-old Chloe Longster, who sadly died while being cared for by Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at Kettering General Hospital in November 2022.

‘CQC found after a detailed investigation that the trust had failed to carry out their duty to be open and transparent, and as a result we issued them with a fixed penalty notice on Friday, December 5.

‘This was in response to a breach of Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which requires health and social care services to have a duty of candour and be open and transparent about people’s care.

‘The trust has paid the fine and a banner informing people CQC has taken this action will remain on their page of CQC’s website for three months.

‘The amount of this fixed penalty notice is in no way representative of the value of Chloe’s life, and is the amount that CQC is legally allowed to issue under these regulations.

‘Any money paid in fines, is passed on to the Treasury by CQC.’

A spokesman for Kettering General Hospital said: ‘The Care Quality Commission (CQC) made the decision to issue a fixed penalty notice to Kettering General Hospital for failures to communicate appropriately with a family under the NHS’s duty of candour.

‘We are deeply sorry for these failings and have looked closely at how we deliver information to families going forwards, making changes to try to ensure that duty of candour is delivered appropriately and in a timely way.’

Following the coroner’s verdict in October 2024, Julie Hogg, the group chief nurse for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, had said the hospital ‘failed to offer Chloe the care she deserved’ admitting they ‘should have done more’.

She added they had ‘worked hard to make significant improvements’, including management of patients with sepsis and those who are not ‘getting better’.

She said: ‘We have also increased our staffing levels and improved the way we communicate with our patients and their families.

‘We realise there is still more to do but we are committed to ensuring that every patient receives the best care.’