NHS Trust Faces Prosecution Over Sepsis Deaths of Two Children

An NHS trust is facing criminal prosecution after two young children died from sepsis. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) has been charged with three offenses under the Social Care Act, brought by the Care Quality Commission. The charges relate to the deaths of three-year-old Zadie Ajetunmobi in November 2022 and two-year-old Selina Samarina in April 2024, both at Broomfield Hospital in Essex.

Court documents allege that care and treatment provided to the girls were not delivered safely. Zadie was initially sent home with antibiotics after being diagnosed with tonsillitis, despite presenting with a high temperature, sore throat, and racing heartbeat. Her death in November 2022 was later ruled by a coroner as preventable if national sepsis guidelines had been followed. An internal investigation by the trust found that medics failed to recognize how sick Zadie was and did not implement the sepsis pathway.

Selina was also sent home from the same hospital by a junior doctor after presenting with fever, a rash, and irritability. Her condition deteriorated, and she was readmitted by ambulance the following day. She went into cardiac arrest minutes later and died early the next morning. The coroner concluded her death resulted from sepsis and pneumonia, with Down's Syndrome and an upper respiratory tract infection as contributing factors. Her inquest heard that despite the sepsis protocol being triggered upon her arrival, "huge demand" meant she was seen by a very junior doctor who did not adequately address potential diagnoses like sepsis or pneumonia.

Adam Sewell-Jones, the trust’s group chief executive, stated that the trust is working closely with the CQC on its investigation but declined to comment further due to the ongoing legal process.

The Mail has campaigned since 2016 to raise awareness of sepsis symptoms, a condition that occurs when an infection triggers a violent immune response that attacks the body's own organs. It is often referred to as a 'silent killer' and is responsible for tens of thousands of avoidable deaths annually.

MSEFT is scheduled to enter pleas to the three charges at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on December 3.