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The death of a 13-year-old girl, Chloe Longster, is currently being investigated by the Care Quality Commission after it was found that clinicians had reportedly failed to treat the signs of sepsis. Chloe was being treated on the Skylark ward at Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, which is already the subject of safety concerns. She had no serious underlying health conditions, and was admitted to the hospital on 28 November 2022, but passed away the next day.
The CQC was not informed of Chloe’s death for at least three weeks, despite visiting the hospital one week later. A spokesperson for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire said that her death could have been reported more quickly. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition which occurs when the immune system overreacts to an infection. The CQC is currently “liaising with the trust to establish the circumstances around the death and to see if there is any regulatory action that needs to be taken”. In some cases, the regulator can choose to prosecute individuals or organisations where people have been harmed or put in danger.
It was confirmed by a CQC spokesperson that Kettering General Hospital did not inform the regulator of Chloe’s death until after an unannounced inspection of the Skylark ward and the paediatric emergency department on 6 and 19 December 2022. Following the inspection, a warning notice was issued due to concerns related to patient safety. The concerns cited included sepsis treatment, staff numbers, dirt levels, and a lack of culture where problems could be raised without fear.
“We offer our condolences to Chloe’s family for their tragic loss,” said Julie Hogg, the chief nurse at the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group. “We are sorry for any failings in the care we provided, and we await the coroner’s conclusion. We acknowledge this could have been done more quickly.” A review of children’s services at Kettering General Hospital by the East Midlands Clinical Senate found that “training around quality improvement and learning from incidents in general appeared to be lacking”.
The external team of clinicians said the trust made “constant references within the evidence of action plans and risk registers”, but “these frequently appear to have either not been followed through or completed”. More than 50 families have also reported serious concerns to the BBC about the care of their children at Kettering General Hospital. Chloe’s inquest is scheduled to begin on Monday, and is expected to last for one week
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