A heartbroken mother of a 13-year-old girl, who died in ‘unbearable pain’ from sepsis after being dismissed by staff as a ‘diva teen’, has said her daughter ‘deserved so much more’.
Chloe Longster was a ‘healthy’ teenager who was ‘full of energy’ until she was admitted to a paediatric emergency department with severe pain in her lower ribs and cold-like symptoms.
She died less than 19 hours after being admitted to Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire in 2022, following a pneumonia diagnosis.
An inquest determined yesterday that neglect and a series of failures by the hospital contributed to the youngster’s death.
Her mother Louise Longster has since revealed the ‘harrowing’ ways in which her daughter was failed in the run up to her death, adding: ‘She was the best of us, and deserved so much more.’
Chloe Longster, 13, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is pictured with her mother Louise
Chloe Longster (pictured), 13, died from sepsis after delays in her care after being dismissed by staff as a ‘dramatic teenage’ an inquest heard
The 13-year-old was admitted to a children’s ward at Kettering General Hospital after experiencing severe pain in her lower ribcage and cold-like symptoms (A general view of Kettering General Hospital)
The teenager, a ‘cherished’ IVF baby and keen dancer, had been sniffly with a cough the weekend prior to her death but had been well enough to attend a sleepover.
Chloe, who hailed from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, also had mild asthma and used inhalers but had never had an asthma attack, according to her parents.
Reliving the moment her daughter became seriously unwell, Mrs Longster recalled thinking if she was going to the right place on their way to the hospital.
‘She was frightened. She was holding my hand, she was squeezing it,’ Mrs Longster said: ‘But I didn’t, in my wildest dreams, think my daughter would die.’
Earlier this week, an inquest heard that Chloe was in so much pain she was unable to walk and had to be taken into the hospital via wheelchair by her brother.
Despite the young girl’s condition, Mrs Longster said she felt as though she was having to ‘convince’ hospital staff of how unwell her daughter was.
The grieving mother previously said she was treated as a ‘mum who had been on Google‘ while her daughter was dismissed as a ‘diva teen’.
She told the BBC that hospital staff displayed a sort of ‘immunity to the sound of Chloe being in pain.’
A nurse also yelled at the suffering teenager for taking short quick breaths, according to the mother.
Chloe was diagnosed with pneumonia and died less than 19-hours after being admitted to the ward
Her mother Louise Longster said she repeatedly asked medics for help but was treated as a ‘mum who had been on Google ‘ while her daughter was dismissed as a ‘diva teen’
‘In what situation does shouting at anybody or being that dismissive help the situation?’ she told the publication.
‘It was Chloe’s first experience of needing medical care and it was horrifying.’
The mother claimed she was not informed of a sepsis screening and said pain relief for her daughter was ‘delayed’ with the youngster being treated with ‘contempt’ in the final hours of her life.
The 40-year-old added that her daughter was never given an identification bracelet.
‘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,’ she said during the inquest.
‘During Chloe’s last 18 hours on this earth she was in pain and treated with contempt.’
In a BBC interview, Mrs Longster told of how she could her daughter’s chest ‘crackle’ while laying beside her.
‘It really feels like there is a pervasive belief that patients aren’t really ill and parents are a nuisance,’ she said.
‘It was devastating and harrowing to see how she was failed. That’s an understatement, but it wasn’t a shock, it wasn’t a surprise.’
‘She was the best of us, and deserved so much more,’ she added.
‘During Chloe’s last 18 hours on this earth she was in pain and treated with contempt,’ her mother told the inquest
‘She was a peacekeeper, and even though she was in such tremendous pain, she was never rude to them [hospital staff]. She was always nice, polite, but desperate.’
The grieving mother also raised worries about how babies and non-verbal individuals were being treated if staff couldn’t ‘drum up enough empathy for a child as easy as Chloe’.
It comes shortly after Mrs Longster spoke of her devastation in the wake of her daughter’s death, which the family believe was ‘completely preventable’.
The now concluded inquest heard that upon her arrival to the hospital, Chloe was triaged and placed in a side room before being given oral Oramorph for her pain.
Mrs Longster said: ‘She asked if she could be put to sleep because she was in so much pain. She said to me ‘stop saying it’s going to be OK mum. It hurts.’
The teenager had a cannula inserted but it fell out whilst she was still in A&E, with her mother and brother later having to take her down to X-ray themselves.
Mrs Longster said she saw the X-ray and noticed what she thought was a mass at the bottom of Chloe’s lung.
When she returned to the A&E department the mother was told Chloe had a chest infection.
A doctor prescribed antibiotics and she was given one dose before being admitted to the Skylark Ward.
The grieving mother also raised worries about how babies and non-verbal individuals were being treated if staff couldn’t ‘drum up enough empathy for a child as easy as Chloe’
When on the children’s ward, Mrs Longster said she had to repeatedly ask doctors for more pain relief for her daughter.
‘I remember making a comment that it feels like we are chasing her pain, not getting on top of it,’ she said.
When the nurse returned to do more observations on Chloe, she realised her oxygen level had dropped, with Mrs Longster noting: ‘They initially thought the machine had broken.’
Chloe was moved to a side room with Mrs Longster told this was because she had tested positive for Influenza A, the inquest heard.
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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 being slumped there.
‘It felt like Chloe hadn’t been taken seriously about how unwell she was until that point.
Mrs Longster said that she got the impression nurses believed Chloe was being ‘dramatic’.
‘I still think there were preconceived ideas,’ she said: ‘Chloe asked for her duvet to be brought in but I thought that was just going to exaggerate the diva teen thing.’
Chloe’s parents, Dave and Louise Longster, have said they want to see real change in the wake of her death.
The inquest concluded yesterday that Chloe may have survived if she received treatment earlier (File image of Kettering General Hospital)
Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas concluded at Northampton Coroner’s Court yesterday that Chloe may have survived if she received treatment earlier.
‘There were several missed opportunities to recognise Chloe’s deteriorating condition,’ she said.
‘The trust recognised those missed opportunities, they have stated there were shortcomings in care both medically and in nursing.’
‘I do accept on balance that Chloe’s condition, if identified earlier, could have been managed and would have altered the outcome.
‘Her death was contributed to by neglect. There were repeated missed opportunities to recognise and respond to her deteriorating condition.’
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