Girl, 2, dies after being discharged from hospital

Selina Samarina died two days after she was initially discharged from Broomfield Hospital

A two-year-old child died from sepsis after she was sent home from hospital by a "very junior" doctor, a report revealed.

Selina Samarina was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, with symptoms of fever, a rash and irritability on 7 April.

She had been discharged but had died after being readmitted two days later, when her parents had brought her back, a prevention-of-future-deaths report said.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Hospital Trust said it would provide a full response to the coroner’s report within 56 days.

In his report, Stephen Simblet KC, the assistant coroner for Essex, said the "sufficiency of the staffing arrangements" that day were a concern.

'Huge demand'

Selina received an urgent referral and the sepsis protocol was triggered upon her being presented at hospital, the report said.

The coroner stated this should ordinarily have led to an examination by a senior doctor within an hour.

However, a "very junior doctor was sent over" due to a "huge demand" on the ward service.

Diagnoses such as sepsis or pneumonia were not addressed before Selina - who had been born with Down's syndrome - was sent home.

It was not until two and a half hours after an urgent referral was made that a doctor of appropriate seniority was available to assess Selina.

"By which time, as was consistent with the directions from the junior doctor, Selina had gone home with her parents," Mr Simblet wrote.

His report detailed that there would normally be 12 doctors across the emergency and paediatrics departments, but on that day there were seven.

The hospital trust must explain to the coroner what action it planned to take to prevent future deaths

Selina was taken back to hospital by her parents on 9 April, but died there later that day.

An inquest into her death in May concluded she died from sepsis and pneumonia, with contributory factors of Down’s Syndrome and upper respiratory tract infection.

In his latest report, Mr Simblet concluded that an "increased workload" played a part in a senior consultant not reviewing Selina's condition.

“I was told in evidence that the trust has now consolidated the staffing rotas for the emergency department and paediatrics department, so that it is now easier to see any deficit as one deficit across two departments," he added.

“That does not, however, address the situation of how and why a situation in which only 60 per cent of the doctors are available for these important services."

He said the hospital trust must provide to him in writing what action it proposed to take.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.