Chief nurse sorry for children's services mistakes

A chief nurse has apologised for "mistakes" made in children's services at a hospital and for not learning from them "as we should have".

In 2023, a BBC investigation revealed allegations spanning more than 20 years about the treatment of patients on Skylark ward, a children's unit at Kettering General Hospital.

Since then, a coroner has ruled neglect and a series of failures led to the death of 13-year-old Chloe Longster in 2022.

In an open letter, University Hospitals of Northamptonshire's chief nurse, Julie Hogg, said: "We apologise to anyone who has not received the best care from us".

Ms Hogg said the hospital had launched a full review of its children's services in October and said work was under way to make "immediate changes".

She wrote: "Some changes, such as improving the way our teams work together on sepsis management, take time to implement properly.

"You have our commitment that we will get this right - not just making changes but embedding them."

She also invited patients to complete a feedback form to help shape the future of the hospital's children's services.

Dozens of families, including those whose children died or became seriously ill, raised concerns about Kettering General Hospital's care with the BBC in 2023.

Michaela Stevens said she believed her then 17-month-old son - who lost 500g (1.1lbs) on the ward - was "lucky to be alive".

The claims included repeated failures to diagnose life-threatening illnesses and the regular discharge of patients who required urgent care.

After being rated inadequate by the care regulator, the chief executive at the time, Deborah Needham, apologised and said the report had a "clear message... of the need to significantly improve the way we deliver children and young people's services".

Improvements at the hospital were later noted by the regulator and the local NHS did a "rapid quality review" to assess safety concerns in urgent and emergency care in November.

However, at a hospital board meeting in February, it was said "learning has not been embedded and sustained" and there were "concerns about culture" in the paediatric services.

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