The Care Quality Commission is prosecuting Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust over three charges alleging unsafe care leading to the sepsis deaths of two toddlers, Zadie Ajetunmobi and Selina Samarina, at Broomfield Hospital. The trust faced delays in administering antibiotics and relied on un-updated 2017 sepsis guidance in one case, while a junior doctor discharged the other child without senior oversight. The trust will enter pleas at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on December 3, 2026.
Care Quality Commission prosecution and charges
- ▪The Care Quality Commission is prosecuting Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust under the Health and Social Care Act for allegedly failing to provide safe care and treatment.
- ▪The Care Quality Commission brought three criminal charges against Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, including two charges regarding Zadie Ajetunmobi and one regarding Selina Samarina.
Court appearance and trust response
- ▪Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust group chief executive Adam Sewell-Jones stated the trust is working closely with the CQC ahead of its December 2026 court appearance.
- ▪Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is scheduled to enter pleas to three CQC prosecution charges at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on December 3, 2026.
Death of Zadie Ajetunmobi
- ▪Three-year-old Zadie Ajetunmobi suffered a cardiac arrest and died from sepsis complications on November 10, 2022, within ten hours of admission to Broomfield Hospital in Essex with a 40C temperature.
- ▪Three-year-old Zadie Ajetunmobi was not administered a potentially life-saving dose of intravenous antibiotics for more than seven hours after arriving at Broomfield Hospital.
Outdated sepsis guidance at Broomfield Hospital
- ▪Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust had not updated its local sepsis guidance at Broomfield Hospital since 2017 prior to Zadie Ajetunmobi's death in November 2022.
- ▪Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust informed the family of Zadie Ajetunmobi that hospital staff had been operating under un-updated 2017 sepsis protocols.
Death of Selina Samarina
- ▪Two-year-old Selina Samarina, who had Down's syndrome, died from sepsis in April 2024, two days after being discharged and subsequently readmitted to Broomfield Hospital.
- ▪Assistant coroner Stephen Simblet KC stated during an inquest that a doctor of appropriate seniority was unavailable for two and a half hours after Selina Samarina's sepsis protocol was triggered.
- ▪Two-year-old Selina Samarina was discharged from Broomfield Hospital by a very junior doctor on April 7, 2024, while presenting with symptoms of fever, rash, and irritability.
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