A three-year-old girl, Zadie Ajetunmobi, tragically died from sepsis just ten hours after being admitted to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, England, sparking a long-awaited inquest to examine potential failings in her treatment. Zadie’s parents, Theo and Rhiannon, are now seeking answers after doctors reportedly failed to recognize her symptoms and delayed administering the necessary antibiotics.
Zadie was admitted to A&E, Britain’s version of the emergency room, in November 2022 with a high temperature, but despite her condition, antibiotics were not given until more than seven hours later. She passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at 7:42 a.m., leaving her family devastated and unaware that sepsis had caused her death until post-mortem results were revealed two months later.
The family believes Zadie’s death could have been avoided if her condition had been identified sooner and the correct treatment administered. “She was a thriving, healthy child,” her father, Theo, said. “There was no mention of sepsis, so afterwards we were left in limbo trying to deduce what happened.”
Initially diagnosed with tonsillitis by an out-of-hours GP and sent home with antibiotics, Zadie’s condition worsened. Her mother, Rhiannon, brought her back to A&E on the advice of 111, but despite the severity of her symptoms, critical treatment was delayed.
A report provided by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in March 2023 admitted that there had been a delay in giving Zadie antibiotics and acknowledged that the hospital’s sepsis treatment guidance had not been updated. This lapse prevented Zadie from being placed on the hospital’s sepsis treatment “pathway” when she arrived at A&E.
The inquest, scheduled to last two days, will investigate the hospital’s sepsis treatment policies and whether systemic failings contributed to the child’s death. The family hopes the inquest will bring much-needed clarity and accountability.
Diane Sarkar, the Trust’s chief nursing and quality officer, stated, “We took action to ensure better processes were in place,” following the tragedy.
