Girl, 13, died from sepsis after being dismissed as 'dramatic teenager'

Chloe Longster, 13, had been a healthy, fun-loving teen until she was admitted to Kettering General Hospital with pneumonia in November 2022. She died 18-hours later after developing sepsis

A 13-year-old girl tragically died from sepsis in "unbearable pain" after her care was delayed and she was dismissed by hospital staff as a "dramatic teenager", an inquest heard. Chloe Longster, who had been a healthy, fun-loving teen, was admitted to Kettering General Hospital with pneumonia in November 2022 and sadly passed away 18 hours later due to sepsis.

Her mother, Louise Longster, revealed that she repeatedly asked for medical assistance but was treated as a "mum who had been on Google" while her daughter was brushed off as a "diva teen". She shared the heartbreaking detail that Chloe had been in so much pain she asked if she was going to die, stating: "It’s haunting that the 13-year-old was the one who was right."

During the first day of the week-long inquest, Mrs Longster expressed that pain relief for Chloe was "delayed" and in her final hours, she was treated with "contempt."

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The grieving mother described how she has been left "devastated" by Chloe's death, which her family believe was "completely preventable."

Prior to her sudden illness, Chloe, from Market Harborough, had been sniffly and had a cough but was well enough to attend a sleepover.

Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas was informed that Chloe had mild asthma and used inhalers but had never experienced an asthma attack. Giving evidence, Mrs Longster said: "She was incredibly healthy. She only used the inhaler very rarely."

On Monday, November 28, Chloe felt too unwell to attend school, so her mother left her in the care of her 17-year-old brother while she went to work, instructing him to call if Chloe's condition worsened. However, at 11.15am, Chloe called her mother, complaining of rib pain and sickness.

Mrs Longster recounted: "I phoned my husband and asked him to go back to her."

Her husband found Chloe visibly uncomfortable but not in severe distress. Nonetheless, Mrs Longster decided to return home to check on her daughter, noting, "I could see she was becoming more and more uncomfortable and panicked about the pain."

When asked by the coroner if this behaviour was typical for Chloe, Mrs Longster confirmed it was not: "Yes," she said. "She liked to go out to dancing, she liked to live and being ill was massively inconvenient for her. It was very out of character."

Unable to reach the GP, Mrs Longster called 999 only to be informed that an ambulance would take two hours.

Consequently, she drove Chloe to Kettering General Hospital with her son. "She was frightened. She was holding my hand, she was squeezing it," Mrs Longster described.

Chloe's pain was so intense that she couldn't walk to the hospital entrance and had to be wheeled in by her brother while her mother parked the car. In paediatric A&E, Mrs Longster noticed Chloe's pale and clammy appearance.

After triage, Chloe was placed in a side room and given oral Oramorph to alleviate her pain.

Mrs Longster recalls the heart-wrenching ordeal: "She asked if she could be put to sleep because she was in so much pain."

Describing her daughter's agony, she shared, "She said to me ‘stop saying it’s going to be OK mum. It hurts."

A series of unfortunate events unfolded when a cannula inserted into Chloe fell out while they were still in A&E; Mrs Longster and her son resorted to taking Chloe for an x-ray themselves. After spotting what appeared to be a mass at the bottom of Chloe's lung in the x-ray, she returned and was told by A&E that Chloe had a chest infection.

Despite being prescribed antibiotics and admitted to Skylark Ward, Mrs Longster faced constant challenges obtaining adequate pain relief. She expressed her frustration, "I remember making a comment that it feels like we are chasing her pain, not getting on top of it."

The situation escalated when an on-call doctor diagnosed Chloe with pneumonia, necessitating admission for intravenous antibiotics and fluids.

Upon arrival at Skylark Ward, Mrs Longster approached the nurses' station with trepidation, recalling the dismissive attitudes encountered previously: "I remember in A&E having to convince them she really wasn’t well.."

She insisted: "I was not a mum who’d been on Google, and she wasn’t a dramatic teenager." Mrs Longster sensed a sinking feeling as preconceptions about her took hold on the ward as well.

"I went back and messaged my husband and said I didn’t think they were taking it seriously."

"I was told by another mum that there was a poorly baby on the ward and, I get that, but my baby was poorly too."

By 9pm Chloe had settled a little but was still wincing with the pain. No cannula had yet been fitted. She said: "A nurse kept coming in to do observations but nothing was happening."

"I asked what was going on and she said ‘she’s on red’. I thought to myself ‘don’t google it because I’ll panic’. But I shouldn’t have to google it."

The nurse later did observations on Chloe and realised her oxygen had dropped. Mrs Longster added: "They initially thought the machine had broken."

Chloe was moved to a side room and Mrs Longster was told this was because she had tested positive for Influenza A. A consultant was called, and more people began coming into Chloe’s room. Mrs Longster said: "I asked a nurse if she was going to be OK and the nurse said she didn’t know."

"How I got out of the room, I don’t know, but I just remember hitting the floor and slumping there. It felt like Chloe hadn’t been taken seriously about how unwell she was until that point."

"She had asked me if she was going to die. I took that as her trying to articulate how poorly she felt. It’s haunting that the 13-year-old was the one who was right."

"During Chloe’s last 18 hours on this earth, she was in pain and treated with contempt." Mrs Longster expressed her belief that the nurses thought Chloe was being overly 'dramatic'. She recalled an incident where a nurse bluntly told her that her breathing style was exacerbating her pain.

She added: "I still think there were preconceived ideas. "Chloe asked for her duvet to be brought in but I thought that was just going to exaggerate the diva teen thing."

During her time in A&E, Chloe was attended by Dr Marwan Gamaleldin, who was a registrar at the time. He revealed that a nurse had sought him out around 2.20pm to examine Chloe as she had initiated the sepsis screening tool, but Chloe's score wasn't high enough to warrant further investigation.

The court learned that it is standard procedure to record at least one blood pressure reading during any admission to provide doctors with a baseline for each patient. The doctor took her blood pressure on both arms during his separate examination to check for any discrepancies, but he didn't have any concerns.

Dr Gamaleldin admitted not recording the blood pressure in his notes. When asked how many times he saw Chloe during her two-hour stay, he estimated three or four times and noted that his records were made retrospectively.

He told the inquest: "She didn’t come across as struggling to breathe. Breathing with pain is different to struggling to breathe."

He mentioned that due to her level of pain and elevated heart rate, he started considering a 'differential' diagnosis other than a bacterial infection.

The inquest heard from a medic who told the hearing: "I saw a shadow on the left side of her lung in the x-ray. In that context, infection was likely."

The doctor also recalled, "I remember saying that the pain wasn’t proportional to what we’d normally see in an infection."

Emphasising his concern, he said: "The absence of fever is a red flag. If there’s no fever and a high heart rate, you start to think about something else."

The inquest taking place at The Guildhall in Northampton is set to continue until Friday.