An NHS trust is facing a criminal prosecution following the deaths of two young children who died after contracting sepsis.
Zadie Ajetunmobi was three when she died at Broomfield Hospital in Essex in November 2022.
She was diagnosed with a high temperature, sore throat and racing heartbeat but was sent home at first with antibiotics after an out-of-hours GP diagnosed her with tonsillitis.
The other child was Selina Samarina, two, who died two days after she was sent home by a doctor at the same hospital in April 2024.
She was brought back by ambulance the following day after her condition deteriorated but went into cardiac arrest minutes later and died early the following morning.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) faces three charges under the Social Care Act – two relating to Zadie and the other to Selina – in a prosecution being brought by the Care Quality Commission.
Zadie Ajetunmobi was three when she died at Broomfield Hospital in Essex in November 2022
Court documents seen by the BBC allege care and treatment were ‘not provided in a safe way’ to the girls.
Adam Sewell-Jones, the trust’s group chief executive, said: ‘We are working closely with the CQC on its investigation. As there is an on-going legal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.’
A coroner recorded a narrative verdict in 2024 for Zadie’s death, stating it could have been ‘prevented’ if staff had followed national sepsis guidelines.
The inquest heard she suffered a cardiac arrest ten hours after being taken to Broomfield when medics repeatedly failed to spot the tell-tale signs of sepsis.
In an early letter of admission read to the hearing, the trust revealed that an internal investigation had found that medics ‘failed to recognise how sick Zadie was’.
It admitted that staff had as a result failed to implement the sepsis pathway which could have saved Zadie’s life.
Selina Samarina, two, who died two days after she was sent home by a doctor at the hospital in April 2024
Giving evidence, Dr Arindam Das, who specialises in paediatrics at Broomfield Hospital, said he led this internal investigation and found there had been several ‘system failures’.
The doctor, who was tasked with compiling a ‘root cause analysis’ report for the trust, said staff had repeatedly failed to escalate the toddler’s case despite several red flags.
Dr Das said the trust’s sepsis policy was out of date according to NICE guidelines but added: ‘Even on the basis of the old policy, Zadie should have triggered the sepsis pathway.’
NHS trust prosecuted over deaths of two young children from sepsis after they were sent home from hospital
Her parents, Theo and Rhiannon, described her as a ‘beautiful little girl’, adding: ‘This is a tragedy from which we will never recover.’
Selina’s inquest, also in 2024, heard that she was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, with symptoms of fever, a rash and irritability on April 7 that year.
The sepsis protocol was triggered upon her being presented at hospital, the coroner’s prevention of future deaths report said, which should have led to an examination by a senior doctor within an hour.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is expected to enter pleas to three charges brought under the Social Care Act at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on December 3
Instead, ‘huge demand’ meant she was seen by a ‘very junior’ doctor who sent her home without addressing diagnoses such as sepsis or pneumonia.
Selina, who was born with Down’s Syndrome, was taken back to hospital by her parents on April 9 but died there.
The coroner concluded her death resulted from sepsis and pneumonia, with contributory factors of Down’s Syndrome and upper respiratory tract infection.
Selina’s parents Signe and Stephen revealed they were planning legal action afterwards, with account manager Mr Samarina, 44, saying: 'It's not about the money.
'We want to highlight how poor the service was. That's the only punishment the system allows us to give.'
The Mail has run its End the Sepsis Scandal campaign since 2016 to raise awareness of symptoms among patients and hospital staff.
But the condition – which strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs and is known as the 'silent killer' – still causes tens of thousands of avoidable deaths each year.
MSEFT is expected to enter pleas to the three charges at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on December 3.