Today a Coroner at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court will consider the sepsis treatment guidelines and policies in force at Broomfield Hospital, Essex, following the death there of a three-year-old girl in November 2022.
Theo and Rhiannon Ajetunmobi, the parents of Zadie Ajetunmobi, are being represented at the Inquest by solicitors Kingsley Napley LLP.
The Coroner has agreed with submissions made by Kingsley Napley that the hearing should be held as an Article 2 Human Rights Act inquest in order to facilitate an enhanced investigation of any systemic failings.
Zadie died on 11 November 2022. She had been diagnosed with tonsillitis by an out of hours GP at Broomfield Hospital on 7 November. Her mother contacted 111 on 10 November and was advised to take Zadie to the A&E department at the same hospital. Zadie arrived that evening with a temperature of 40 degrees just before 10 p.m., and sadly passed away at 07.42 a.m. on 11 November 2022, following a cardiac arrest.
The subsequent post-mortem showed she died from complications associated with sepsis.
In a later report to the family by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, it was admitted that the hospital had failed to update the local Sepsis tool in line with National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance, which was updated in 2017.
It is the family’s belief that had the local Sepsis tool been updated, Zadie would have triggered the sepsis pathway when she was initially assessed in the A&E Department and would have had a dose of intravenous (IV) antibiotics within an hour of arriving at A&E which could have saved her life. In fact, antibiotics were not administered for more than seven hours following her arrival.
Ahead of the Inquest, Zadie’s parents comment:
Zadie was our much loved and cherished daughter and sister and we miss her every day. We trusted Broomfield to help her in our hour of need and instead their failure to follow the latest advice on sepsis meant she was taken from us cruelly and too soon. We are grateful to the Coroner for considering the full events surrounding her death. We can only hope that lessons will be learned so that other families do not suffer such a devastating and avoidable tragedy. Thank you.”
The Kingsley Napley team advising Mr and Mrs Ajetunmobi is led by Clinical Negligence specialists Andrea Wadden (associate solicitor) and James Bell (partner).
Andrea Wadden comments:
Prompt identification and treatment is crucial to prevent sepsis being fatal. Our clients are keen to share their story to help raise awareness of this terrible condition and to alert parents to be vigilant to the signs and to press for appropriate hospital attention. Zadie's story at inquest will be immensely painful for them to relive but they sincerely believe it is important that the facts and poor decisions around her case are heard."
You can read coverage of this inquest in the Daily Mail, The Sun and on the BBC.
Media enquiries can be addressed to Louise Beeson at Bell Yard Communications at Louise@bell-yard.com / 07768 956997
Neither Kingsley Napley nor their client will be making any further comment during the Inquest.
A photo of Zadie is available on request.
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