Bereaved parents demand public inquiry into hospital

Families whose children died while under the care of a hospital's paediatric unit have called for a public inquiry.

Action Group: Skylark launched its campaign calling for an inquiry into the Skylark ward at Kettering General Hospital on Friday during a candlelit vigil in the town.

Organiser Louise Longster's 13-year-old daughter Chloe died in November 2022, and a coroner found her death was contributed to by neglect. She said her family had been "failed" and she wanted to see independent scrutiny.

Adam Carson, chief executive of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group, said he would listen to the group and learn from their experiences.

Chloe died from pneumonia and sepsis, one day after being admitted to the ward.

"It's nearly four years since we lost Chloe," Longster explained.

"The coroner found there were numerous opportunities to prevent Chloe from dying and there were failings in both clinical care and nursing care.

"The small amount of accountability that has occurred is the £1,250 duty of candour fine that the CQC charged the hospital with last year, but that was about them not phoning us within a timely way after we lost Chloe.

"For us, lessons will never be learnt until there is accountability for the harm that's been caused."

She added: "It's well beyond time now for there to be independent scrutiny."

Nicola Stanton, from Corby, attended the vigil.

Her daughter Jorgie died from multi-organ failure caused by dehydration and sepsis on the ward in 2016, just before her second birthday.

An inquest into her death found five medical failures by hospital staff, contributed to by neglect.

These included a doctor's decision to remove her steroid drip and a failure by staff to notice she was becoming dehydrated.

In the years after Jorgie's death, a BBC investigation heard from more than 50 parents with serious concerns about the treatment of their children at the hospital, many of whom died or suffered injuries.

"It'll make people accountable, and people have got to start realising they can't keep going on like this," Stanton said of a public inquiry.

"Things need to change. We have had some good care on the ward, but the culture has to change.

"Children's lives are at risk. There will be more deaths."

Lynette Stone also came to the vigil after her son Alfie died at the hospital when he was just 12 in December 2019.

An inquest found he died from hypoxia and multiple organ failure following an epileptic seizure.

The coroner said ambulance paramedics prior to him being in hospital had been unable to give him oxygen for more than 15 minutes due to their concern "that continuous fitting movements made it difficult for them to do so".

Paramedics were also not trained in the use of the anti-epileptic drugs.

While in hospital, Alfie continued to have seizures and was oxygenated and ventilated, but a CT scan the following day showed significant brain damage and a decision was made to withdraw life support.

Stone said she felt she had been "treated like complete and utter rubbish" as she tried to say goodbye to her son.

"Lessons are not being learnt; they never will be," she said.

"They just come out in public, and they say, 'We're sorry, lessons will be learnt'.

"They're obviously not being learnt."

Lee Barron, Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, joined the families on Friday and said that while they had been fighting for a decade, "nothing's changed".

"I met a parent and the first thing that the CQC [Care Quality Commission] said to her was, 'Your child shouldn't have died'," he said.

"That's a damning indictment, and what we need is not revenge or anything like that; nothing is going to bring people back, but what they need is answers and justice.

"What we need to see is that it's safe and that's what we're calling for."

Barron added that he did not believe the families should have to wait for an inquiry and that they were "entitled to answers now".

In 2023, the hospital's Skylark ward was rated as inadequate by CQC inspectors.

It has since been upgraded to requires improvement in 2024.

"We are deeply sorry, and we know that nothing we say can take away the pain of losing a loved one, or undo the distress that has been caused," Carson said.

"We respect the families' wishes to hold the vigil and remember their loved ones.

"We recognise how important it is for families to be heard and, where they feel able and wish to engage, we will listen to them with compassion and learn from their experiences as we continue to improve our services."

The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.

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