Family ‘Devastated’ as No Action Taken Over Failures of Care
Written by HFM News on 17th February 2026
The family of a Market Harborough teenager who died in hospital say they are “devastated” that an NHS trust was fined for a lack of transparency — but not for failures in her care.
Chloe Longster died from pneumonia and sepsis in November 2022 aged 13, a day after being admitted to Kettering General Hospital.
In 2024, a coroner ruled her death was contributed to by neglect.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has since issued the trust a £1,250 fine for breaching its “duty of candour” — a legal requirement to be open and honest with patients and families — but said the evidential threshold was not met for a prosecution under Regulation 12, which covers safe care and treatment.
Chloe with her Mum Louise
Chloe was a popular student at Robert Smyth Academy in Market Harborough and her mother, Louise Longster, said the outcome was heartbreaking after a two-year investigation.
She said the family were not contacted until January 2023 despite a serious incident being declared the previous month, and that information about Chloe’s care “emerged slowly over many months”, leaving them with “deep and unresolved concerns about how events were handled”.
“At the moment we needed honesty, compassion, and transparency most, we received none of these,” she said. “Chloe was taken from us when she should have been safe. She wasn’t. Chloe deserved better and families deserve honesty and compassion.”
University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, which runs the hospital, had previously apologised, saying Chloe “did not get the care she should have”.
Responding to the fine, a spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry for these failings and have looked closely at how we deliver information to families going forwards, making changes to try to ensure that duty of candour is delivered appropriately and in a timely way.”
Carolyn Jenkinson, deputy director of hospitals for the CQC in the Midlands, said the organisation continued to extend its “deepest sympathies” to Chloe’s family, adding the fine “is in no way representative of the value of Chloe’s life” but is the amount legally allowed under the regulations.
