A heartbroken mother whose daughter died of sepsis after a series of hospital failures has revealed that nurses told the teenager her pain was getting worse when she began gasping for air.
Chloe Longster died in “excruciating pain” less than 19 hours after being admitted to Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, in 2022, following a diagnosis of pneumonia.
An investigation into the girl’s death determined that negligence and a series of hospital failures contributed to her death.
Chloe’s mother, Louise Longster, claimed today that a nurse had told her daughter to “calm down” and that she was “making her pain worse” as she suffered difficulty breathing and began to gasp.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Mrs Longster also revealed that at one point her daughter turned to her and asked: “Am I going to die?”
Chloe Longster died in ‘excruciating pain’ less than 19 hours after being admitted to Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire, in 2022, following a diagnosis of pneumonia.
Chloe’s mother Louise Longster told Good Morning Britain that a nurse had told her daughter to “calm down”.
Chloe Longster, 13, from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is pictured with her mother Louise.
She told the ITV show: “I was in the pediatric unit and I wasn’t in that much pain.” But when he said that, I remember thinking that he feels really rubbish. Did I think she was going to die at that moment? At all.
‘A nurse told him to calm down when he felt pain. That’s when he was gasping and the nurse came and told him sternly that his pain was getting worse and that he needed to breathe properly.’
When asked by presenter Richard Madeley if she felt the nurse was telling Chloe she was “faking” her pain, Mrs Longster added: “It felt like that.”
Chloe was a “healthy” teenager who was “full of energy” until she was admitted to the pediatric emergency department with severe pain in her lower ribs and cold-like symptoms.
The teenager, a “darling” IVF baby and a great dancer, had had a cough the weekend before her death but was well enough to attend a sleepover.
Chloe, originally from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, also had mild asthma and used inhalers, but had never had an asthma attack, according to her parents.
Last week, an inquest found Chloe was in so much pain she couldn’t walk and her brother had to take her to hospital in a wheelchair.
Despite the young woman’s condition, Mrs Longster said she felt she had to “convince” hospital staff how unwell her daughter was.
She told GMB: ‘I think anyone could tell it wasn’t right. When we were sent for an x-ray around 3pm, a teenage girl offered her space in front of her if she was called earlier. ‘
Mrs Longster said she repeatedly asked doctors for help but was treated like a “mom who had been on Google” while her daughter was dismissed as a “teenager diva”.
Chloe was diagnosed with pneumonia and died less than 19 hours after being admitted to the ward.
The 13-year-old girl was admitted to the children’s ward at Kettering General Hospital after experiencing severe pain in her lower rib cage and cold-like symptoms (an overview of Kettering General Hospital).
Mrs Longster claimed she was not told about a sepsis test and said her daughter’s pain relief was “delayed” and the young woman was treated with “contempt” in the final hours of her life.
The 40-year-old woman added that her daughter was never given an identification bracelet.
Speaking today, he explained: “I think what we learned at the inquest was that sepsis was being looked at, but in a haphazard way. It was terrifying.”
The now concluded investigation revealed that, upon arrival at hospital, Chloe was assessed and placed in a side room before receiving oral Oramorph for her pain.
The teenager had a cannula inserted, but it fell out while she was still in the ER, and her mother and brother had to take her for an x-ray themselves.
Mrs Longster said last week she looked at the x-ray and noticed what she thought was a mass at the bottom of Chloe’s lung.
When she returned to the emergency department, the mother was told that Chloe had a chest infection.
A doctor prescribed antibiotics and she was given a dose before being admitted to Skylark Ward.
When she was in the children’s ward, Mrs Longster said she had to repeatedly ask doctors for more painkillers for her daughter.
“I remember making a comment that it feels like we’re chasing his pain, not getting over it,” she said.
When the nurse returned to make further observations on Chloe, she noticed that her oxygen level had dropped, and Mrs Longster commented: “At first they thought the machine had broken.”
“During the last 18 hours Chloe was on this earth, she was in pain and treated with contempt,” her mother told the inquest.
Chloe Longster (pictured), 13, died from sepsis following delays in her care after being dismissed by staff as a “dramatic teenager”, an inquest heard.
Chloe was moved to a side room and told by Mrs Longster this was because she had tested positive for influenza A, the inquest heard.
They called a consultant and more people began to enter Chloe’s room.
Mrs Longster said: “I asked a nurse if he was going to be okay and the nurse said she didn’t know.”
‘I don’t know how I got out of the room, but I just remember falling to the floor and collapsing there.
“It seemed as if Chloe hadn’t been taken seriously because of how unwell she was up until that point.
Mrs Longster said she got the impression that the nurses believed Chloe was being “dramatic”.
“I still think there were preconceptions,” she said: “Chloe asked for her duvet to be delivered, but I thought that was just going to overdo the teen diva thing.”
Chloe’s parents, Dave and Louise Longster, have said they want to see real change following her death.
Speaking about her final exchanges with Chloe this morning, Mrs Longster said: “It was just before she was hatched and I told her everything was going to be fine and when she got back we would take her dad’s credit card and leave.” shopping.’
The inquest concluded yesterday that Chloe could have survived if she had received treatment sooner (File image from Kettering General Hospital)
Assistant coroner Sophie Lomas concluded at Northampton coroner’s court yesterday that Chloe could have survived if she had received treatment sooner.
“Several opportunities were missed to recognize Chloe’s deteriorating condition,” he said.
“The trust acknowledged those missed opportunities and stated that there were deficiencies in both medical and nursing care.”
‘I generally accept that Chloe’s condition, if identified earlier, could have been controlled and would have altered the outcome.
‘His death was contributed to by negligence. Repeated opportunities to recognize and respond to his deteriorating condition were missed.’
