A hospital which dismissed a schoolgirl suffering with sepsis as a “diva” before she died has been fined just £1,250.
Chloe Longster, 13, died in November 2022 after staff at Kettering General Hospital allegedly dismissed her as a “dramatic teenager”.
Her mother Louise has now spoken out, condemning the fine after it was meted out by the Care Quality Commission.
Mrs Longster said she repeatedly sought help from doctors but felt treated like a “mum who had been on Google”.
She described her daughter being labelled a “diva teen” by medical staff.
“It is heartbreaking to reconcile this with the seriousness of the acts and omissions in Chloe’s case,” Mrs Longster said.
The girl died just 18 hours after arriving at A&E.
Chloe had been a fit and healthy teenager before falling ill with cold and flu symptoms.
She was taken to A&E with pneumonia but developed sepsis while in hospital care.
An inquest later determined that neglect contributed to her death.
Louise Longster said she repeatedly sought help from doctors but felt treated like a ‘mum who had been on Google’
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PA
Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas concluded that Chloe might have survived with earlier appropriate treatment.
“There were several missed opportunities to recognise Chloe’s deteriorating condition,” the coroner said.
Mrs Longster described her daughter’s final hours as being treated with “contempt” and said pain relief was delayed.
Chloe had been in such severe pain that she asked her mother if she was going to die.
“It’s haunting that the 13-year-old was the one who was right,” she said.
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She added that the hospital failed to contact her family until January 2023, despite declaring a serious incident in December 2022.
“At the moment we needed honesty, compassion, and transparency most, we received none of these,” she said.
Information about Chloe’s care emerged gradually over many months, deepening the family’s trauma.
“Chloe was taken from us when she should have been safe. She wasn’t,” Louise said.
The statutory time limits expired on 27 November 2025, closing off other legal avenues.
Kettering General Hospital said it was ‘deeply sorry for these failings’
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UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Louise said she would have sought legal advice and considered a jdicial review had she known earlier.
“Chloe deserved better and families deserve honesty and compassion,” she said.
Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC’s deputy director of hospitals in the midlands, acknowledged the penalty did not reflect Chloe’s worth.
“The amount of this fixed penalty notice is in no way representative of the value of Chloe’s life, and is the amount that CQC is legally allowed to issue under these regulations,” she said.
The fine relates to a breach of duty of candour requirements under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
A Kettering General Hospital spokesman said: “We are deeply sorry for these failings.”
