NHS trust prosecuted over children's sepsis deaths

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, known as MSE, runs Broomfield Hospital in Essex. It is being prosecuted over the deaths of Zadie Ajetunmobi and Selina Samarina, two children who had sepsis. The case matters because it examines whether hospital systems and clinical decisions failed to provide safe care.

The charges concern separate events. Zadie, aged three, arrived with a temperature of 40C in November 2022 and died within 10 hours. She did not receive potentially life-saving intravenous antibiotics for more than seven hours. Selina was taken to hospital with fever, a rash and irritability in April 2024, sent home, and died two days later after being readmitted.

The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution under the Health and Social Care Act. Court documents allege care and treatment was not provided in a safe way. MSE said it was working closely with investigators. The trust is due at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in December and is expected to enter pleas on 3 December.

The case involves two children and three charges against Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. The charges relate to whether care at Broomfield Hospital was provided safely. The number of charges is higher than the number of children because two charges concern Zadie Ajetunmobi, while a third concerns Selina Samarina.

Zadie was three and arrived at Broomfield on 10 November 2022 with a temperature of 40C. She suffered a cardiac arrest and died within 10 hours. A post-mortem examination linked her death to complications associated with sepsis. She waited more than seven hours for a potentially life-saving dose of intravenous antibiotics.

Selina, aged two, arrived on 7 April 2024 with fever, a rash and irritability. The sepsis protocol was triggered, but she was sent home by a doctor. Her parents brought her back two days later, and she died there. MSE is expected to enter pleas to all three charges.

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. Instead of staying controlled, the body’s immune response can affect the whole system. It may cause widespread inflammation, changes in blood flow and falling blood pressure. As a result, vital organs may not receive enough oxygen and can begin to fail.

The danger is that this process can worsen quickly, especially when serious infection is not recognised or treated promptly. Children may have signs such as fever, irritability or a rash, but the article shows that symptoms can require urgent assessment. Selina arrived with fever, a rash and irritability, while Zadie had a temperature of 40C and later suffered a cardiac arrest.

Sepsis is therefore a time-critical emergency. Hospitals use assessment and treatment pathways to identify possible cases and escalate care. The article reports that Selina’s sepsis protocol was triggered, while Zadie waited more than seven hours for intravenous antibiotics. Those details show why prompt action matters, although the article does not determine medical causation beyond the findings it reports.

Intravenous antibiotics deliver medicine directly into the bloodstream, which is important when sepsis may be progressing rapidly. They are used to treat the bacterial infection that can trigger sepsis, while clinicians also monitor and support the child’s vital organs. The article describes antibiotics as potentially life-saving in Zadie's case.

A delay can give the infection and the body’s harmful response more time to worsen. Blood pressure and circulation may deteriorate, reducing oxygen delivery to organs. A child can then become critically ill, suffer organ failure or, as happened to Zadie, experience cardiac arrest. The article reports that she waited more than seven hours for intravenous antibiotics and died within 10 hours of arrival.

The exact medical contribution of the delay is a matter for the legal and investigative process. However, the reported timing explains why sepsis treatment is treated as urgent. MSE had previously told Zadie's family that local sepsis guidance had not been updated since 2017, adding concern about the system around treatment.

A hospital sepsis protocol is a structured process for responding when a patient may have sepsis. It helps staff recognise warning signs, assess how seriously the child is ill and begin urgent treatment. It also creates a clear route for escalation, so a suitably experienced clinician can review difficult or high-risk decisions.

The article gives a direct example. Selina arrived with fever, a rash and irritability, and the sepsis protocol was triggered. However, a coroner said an appropriately senior doctor was not available until two-and-a-half hours later. In the meantime, a very junior doctor sent her home. Her parents later readmitted her, and she died two days after the first visit.

A protocol does not replace clinical judgment or guarantee a safe outcome. It should, however, support fast action, senior involvement, observation and appropriate treatment or admission. The prosecution will examine whether care at Broomfield was safe. The article does not give the full protocol or state every step staff were required to follow.

The Care Quality Commission, or CQC, is the regulator responsible for checking whether health and social care services meet required standards. When concerns arise, it can investigate the care provided, examine records and hear evidence from families and professionals. Its role is to assess the provider’s systems and conduct against legal requirements.

In this case, the CQC is bringing the prosecution under the Health and Social Care Act. Court documents allege that care and treatment was not provided in a safe way to Zadie Ajetunmobi and Selina Samarina. The allegations concern care at Broomfield Hospital, which is run by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

A prosecution is not the same as a finding of guilt. The trust has not yet entered its pleas, and the legal process is continuing. MSE said it was working closely with investigators but would not comment further because of the ongoing case. The trust is due before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court in December.

NHS trusts are expected to organise care so patients are assessed promptly, treated safely and reviewed by clinicians with suitable experience. That includes maintaining effective guidance, staffing services appropriately, escalating emergencies and learning from serious incidents. These duties matter because individual decisions often depend on the systems around them.

The article highlights several alleged system weaknesses. Zadie waited more than seven hours for intravenous antibiotics, and MSE had previously told her family that local sepsis guidance had not been updated since 2017. Selina’s sepsis protocol was triggered, but an appropriately senior doctor was unavailable for two-and-a-half hours before a very junior doctor sent her home.

When care may have been unsafe, the CQC can investigate and prosecute under the Health and Social Care Act. A court will consider the charges and the trust’s pleas. MSE said it was working with investigators. The case may clarify accountability for clinical decisions, staffing and guidance, but the article does not give its outcome.