Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is facing prosecution over the deaths of two girls aged two and three who had sepsis. The trust faces three charges relating to the care of Zadie Ajetunmobi, 3, and Selina Samarina, 2, at Broomfield Hospital in Essex.
Zadie died within hours of arriving at the hospital with a temperature of 40C, while Selina died two days after being sent home by a doctor. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) brought the prosecution under the Health and Social Care Act, with court documents alleging care and treatment were “not provided in a safe way”.
Three Charges Over Hospital Care
Two charges relate to Zadie and a third concerns Selina. The trust, which runs the hospital, was expected to enter pleas at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on December 3.
Zadie was taken to Broomfield on November 10, 2022, but suffered a cardiac arrest and died less than 10 hours later. An earlier inquest heard she had waited more than seven hours for a potentially life-saving dose of intravenous antibiotics.
Coroner's Findings on Sepsis Pathway
Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes previously ruled that, had staff followed the sepsis pathway immediately, “her death would likely have been prevented”. Her parents, Theo and Rhiannon, spoke of their devastation after the inquest.
They said: “This is a tragedy from which we will never recover and which we hope no other parents ever have to endure. No apology, coroner or NHS report can take away our heartache or bring our beautiful little girl back.”
A tribute to Zadie read: “We will never forget our daughter’s beautiful smile and happy nature. May she rest in perpetual light as we hold memories of her close to our hearts.”
Selina's Case and Staffing Concerns
Selina, who had Down’s syndrome, was taken to the same hospital on April 7, 2024, with a fever, rash and irritability. Her parents brought her back two days after she was discharged, but she died later that day. An inquest concluded she died from sepsis and pneumonia, with Down’s syndrome and an upper respiratory tract infection recorded as contributory factors.
In a subsequent prevention-of-future-deaths report, assistant coroner Stephen Simblet KC raised concerns about staffing on the day she was first seen. He said an urgent referral and the triggering of the sepsis protocol should ordinarily have resulted in an examination by a senior doctor within an hour.
Instead, Selina was seen by a “very junior” doctor and sent home, according to Mr Simblet. A doctor of appropriate seniority was not available until two-and-a-half hours after the referral, by which time she had left with her parents.
Responding to the prosecution, Adam Sewell-Jones, group chief executive of the trust, said: “We are working closely with the CQC on its investigation. As there is an ongoing legal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
