Over the past two days, HM Coroner Brookes investigated the death of 3 year old Zadie Ajetunmobi at Broomfield Hospital Essex in November 2022, with regard to the sepsis treatment guidelines and policies in force at the time.
Zadie's parents Theo and Rhiannon Ajetunmobi were represented at the Inquest held at Chelmsford Coroner's Court by solicitors Kingsley Napley LLP. The parents have the following comments in response to the Coroner's findings delivered today:
"My wife and I are grateful to HM Coroner Brookes for his thorough and searching analysis of the issues surrounding Zadie's death.
"We are, of course, devastated to have heard very clearly in the last 2 days that Zadie's death was avoidable.
"This is a tragedy from which we will never recover and which we hope no other parents ever have to endure.
"We urge Broomfield Hospital and those who were on duty that night to learn all necessary lessons from our terrible experience. The Inquest has confirmed that had the hospital’s sepsis guidance been applied, Zadie's symptoms would have triggered the sepsis pathway and she should have been given intravenous antibiotics within an hour.
"It is beyond painful to know that if Zadie had been given the intravenous antibiotics she would have survived.
"No apology, Coroner or NHS report can take away our heartache or bring our beautiful little girl back. But we hope the examination of the events surrounding Zadie's death helps to prevent future tragedies.
"We would like to thank all those who have supported our family throughout this process.
"We urge other parents to learn more about sepsis, to be aware of the signs and to raise concerns with medical professionals if you ever have any doubts about your child's symptoms."
The Kingsley Napley team advising Mr and Mrs Ajetunmobi was led by Clinical Negligence specialists Andrea Wadden (associate solicitor) and James Bell (partner).
Andrea Wadden comments:
"We are pleased to have been able to support Mr and Mrs Ajetunmobi through this process and are full of admiration for the dignified and calm way they have approached the Inquest and having to relive the harrowing events of 11 November 2022.
"Having examined the circumstances in great detail, HM Coroner Brookes has now provided his conclusion confirming that while Zadie died of natural causes, she should have been treated in line with sepsis guidelines within an hour of arriving at Broomfield Hospital and had this been done, her death would likely have been prevented.
"The Trust says it has already taken a number of steps to prevent similar tragedies from occurring and following HM Coroner Brookes’ findings, we hope they will ensure the sepsis toolkit and guidance is followed at all times and enhanced training is consistently implemented for all staff in A&E.
"Sadly there have been a number of fatal cases of sepsis relating to children in the news recently, but we hope the continued attention on cases such as Zadie’s will result in a change of practice in the future and a focus on lifesaving sepsis guidance.”
The background to this case can be found here.
You can read coverage of this inquest in the Daily Mail, The Sun and on the BBC.
ENDS
Media enquiries can be addressed to Louise Beeson at Bell Yard Communications at Louise@bell-yard.com / 07768 956997
A photo of Zadie is available on request.
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