It's World Sepsis Day

Breathing apparatus

It’s World Sepsis Day today (13th September) and it’s coincided with the release of a patient safety alert from NHS England to all hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulance services, to advise them of the need to make screening tools available to staff.

The alert advises that the delivery of basic elements of sepsis care could save 11,000 lives a year and that the key to reducing the prevalence of sepsis is timely recognition and diagnosis, quick administration of intravenous antibiotics and the involvement of experts including intensive care specialists.

The most up to date sepsis tool for ambulance staff can be found on the UK Sepsis Trust website, which has been designed in collaboration with the College of Paramedics. The Trust’s interim Director of Clinical Quality, Tracy Nicholls has also been involved throughout.

Tracy said: “It’s really good news that the toolkit is now being promoted across the NHS. The most important thing for our staff to recognise is severe sepsis and septic shock, and the criteria for both can be found in the redesigned toolkit.

“At EEAST we have recently declared more serious incidents to do with sepsis but I believe this is because more staff are becoming aware of the symptoms and know when to report near-misses. I encourage all staff to familiarise themselves with the new toolkit, so our response to this very serious condition continues to lead the way for ambulance services.”

The Trust will be releasing advice to the public via social media today and will be issuing a press release to draw attention to the signs and symptoms.

Follow #WSD14 on Twitter for sepsis information and news throughout the day.

0 Comments
Leave a Comment
Name (required)
Email Address (required, never displayed)
Enter a message

(all comments are moderated - your submission will be posted on approval.)