Hospital dismisses sepsis-stricken girl as ‘diva’ before she dies in the UK | news

A MUM is heartbroken after hospital dismissed her daughter as a “dramatic teenager” before she died sepsis Only a fine of £1,250 was imposed. 13-year-old Chloe Longster died in “unbearable pain” due to failures and delays in care at Kettering General Hospital.

The “fit and healthy, fun-loving teenager” was admitted to A&E with pneumonia in November 2022 but died 18 hours later after developing the fatal infection. The mother, Louise Longster, said she repeatedly sought help from doctors but was treated like a “mom on Google”, while her daughter was dismissed as a “diva teenager”.

Ms Longster said her daughter was in so much pain she asked if she was going to die, adding, “It’s disturbing that a 13-year-old girl was that right.”

The investigation later found that neglect had contributed to Chloe’s death after a list of missed opportunities by medical staff that could have saved her life.

Despite the coroner’s devastating findings, the hospital has escaped a “small fine” from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for its failure to communicate appropriately with Chloe’s family.

Ms Longster, of Market Harborough, said she was saddened to learn there would be no further action over failings in her daughter’s care, adding that the family had been left with “deep and unresolved concerns”.

She said, “The formal outcome is a small fine. To reconcile this with the gravity of the acts and omissions in Chloe’s case and the scale of the investigation that followed is heartbreaking.

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

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The grieving mother said that after a two-year-long investigation by the CQC, the family was told there would be no prosecution because a threshold for evidence had not been met.

He said the family understood the decision to be related to the Trust’s failure to contact them by January 12, 2023, despite it being declared a serious incident on December 8, 2022.

Ms Longster said, “There were serious incidents and omissions which those present at the time would have been aware of, and the impact these would have had on Chloe’s chances of survival.

“Yet we were not disclosed when these occurred. Instead, information emerged gradually over several months.

“Combined with the extensive evidence, this has left our family with deep and unresolved concerns about the way the events were handled.”

He further said, “At a time when we needed honesty, compassion and transparency most, we got none of these.

“Instead, the details of Chloe’s care gradually emerged, deepening our trauma and leaving us with unanswered questions.”

Chloe’s mother said the family was told that statutory deadlines would not be a factor, but in fact, they expired on November 27, 2025, effectively closing other legal avenues.

He said that otherwise the family would have sought legal advice and considered judicial review.

Chloe complained of cold and flu symptoms before being taken to A&E.

Her mother said there were “delays” in getting her daughter pain relief and she was treated with “disrespect” at the last minute.

Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas told the inquest that had Chloe received proper treatment earlier, she might have survived.

She said, “Many opportunities were missed to recognise Chloe’s worsening condition.”

Caroline Jenkinson, the CQC’s deputy director of hospitals in the Midlands, said the £1,250 fine “in no way represents the value of Chloe’s life”.

She said, “We offer our deepest condolences to the family of 13-year-old Chloe Longster, who tragically died while being cared for by Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at Kettering General Hospital in November 2022.

“The CQC found after a detailed investigation that the trust had failed to meet its duty to be open and transparent, and as a result we issued them 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 to be open and transparent about the care they provide to people.

“The Trust has paid the fine and a banner informing people that the CQC has taken this action will remain on their page of the CQC website for three months.

“The amount of this fixed penalty notice in no way represents the value of Chloe’s life and is the amount that CQC is legally permitted to issue under these rules. Any money paid as a penalty is returned by the CQC to the Treasury.”

A spokesperson for Kettering General Hospital said,

“The Care Quality Commission (CQC) decided to issue a fixed penalty notice to Kettering General Hospital for failure to communicate appropriately with a family under the NHS’s duty of candour.

“We are deeply sorry for these failings and have paid close attention to how we provide information to families going forward, making changes to ensure that the duty of candour is met appropriately and in a timely manner.”

Following the coroner’s verdict in October 2024, Julie Hogg, group chief nurse at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, said that the hospital “failed to give Chloe the care she deserved”, admitting that they “should have done more”.

He said he has “worked hard to make significant improvements”, including the management of patients with sepsis and those who “are not getting better”.

Ms Hogg 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 much work to do but we are committed to ensuring every patient receives the best care.”