Sepsis errors caused 'preventable' death of girl

Zadie Ajetunmobi would have received a potentially life-saving dose of intravenuous antibiotics had sepsis guidance been followed, a coroner said

The death of a three-year-old girl could have been prevented if hospital staff had followed sepsis guidelines, a coroner ruled.

Zadie Ajetunmobi was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Essex, with a temperature of 40 degrees (104F) on 10 November 2022.

She died less than 10 hours later after suffering a cardiac arrest, with post-mortem tests showing her death was from complications associated with sepsis.

Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes said if staff had adhered to the sepsis pathway immediately, "her death would likely have been prevented".

In a later report provided to the family by the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, it was disclosed that staff had failed to update local sepsis guidance since 2017.

The little girl died at the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford in November 2022

Zadie's parents, Theo and Rhiannon, said that if the correct procedure had been followed, she would have had a potentially life-saving dose of intravenous antibiotics.

Instead, the medicine was not administered for more than seven hours following her arrival, an inquest at Essex Coroner's Court heard.

'Heartache'

"We are, of course, devastated to have heard very clearly in the last two days that Zadie's death was avoidable," the parents said.

"This is a tragedy from which we will never recover and which we hope no other parents ever have to endure.

"No apology, coroner or NHS report can take away our heartache or bring our beautiful little girl back."

The coroner said Zadie's medical cause of death was recorded as pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

He added that had the sepsis protocol been followed, the three-year-old "would have been commenced upon and treated" within an hour of her arrival at hospital.