Failings at Kettering General Hospital result in traumatic injuries for children

It has been reported that the children’s services at Kettering General Hospital in Kettering may be forced to close after accusations of multiple failures in providing appropriate and safe medical care.

In December, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) took enforcement action “to ensure people were safe” on Skylark ward and the paediatric emergency department. Allegations include repeated failures to diagnose life-threatening illnesses and discharging patients who require urgent care.

However, the BBC has since reported that:

• An independent report found staff left a 12-year-old boy - who died at Kettering General Hospital in December 2019 - for four hours suffering seizures, and suggests little effort was made to obtain critical care support.
• In April 2019, nurses allegedly dragged a "traumatised" four-year-old girl down a corridor in agony, insisting that she could walk. Medics are accused of refusing to carry out an MRI scan, which would have detected a dangerous cyst on her spine.
• Mothers claim to have been threatened with safeguarding referrals, with one stating a referral was made against her after she complained her son was struggling to breathe, while another likened it to blackmail.

The Trust has said it has implemented a series of changes, including significant extra training after the Skylark unit came under scrutiny in 2019 following five major errors which led to the death of a baby. However, the BBC have uncovered multiple cases on the Skylark ward since 2019 where children have suffered life-long injuries, due to neglect and substandard care.

In February 2023, the Kettering General Hospital board stated that there was a "significant risk that the Trust has the potential to lose its paediatric services, if it fails to make the improvements required and give the assurances needed to keep children safe".

The impact of such failings at Kettering General Hospital is devastating and lifelong, not only for the children, but also for their parents and loved ones.

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Our Clinical Negligence solicitors have vast experience in claims arising from the substandard paediatric care, including group and multi-party actions. We have previously been involved in bringing multiparty actions for negligent surgical treatment.

If you have had a poor experience or been affected by sub-standard care provided by Kettering General Hospital, please contact our experienced clinical negligence solicitors to discuss how we can help and support you:

 Carolyn Lowe, Partner | Carolyn.lowe@freeths.co.uk | 0186 578 1019

Catherine Bell, Director | Catherine.bell@freeths.co.uk | 0186 578 1140

Katie Shaw, Associate | Katie.shaw@freeths.co.uk | 0186 781 009.