Yesterday Secretary of State for Health Hunt announced new measures to help combat sepsis: a ‘silent killer’. Whilst awareness of this condition is improving (with a 10% rise in the understanding that sepsis is an acute emergency since 2016) tens of thousands of people continue to die each year.
2015 saw the NHS launch its first action plan to promote awareness and faster identification of the condition with a particular focus on targeting general practice and hospital admissions. Yesterdays’ announcement furthers this targeting the entire NHS and wider health care system.
The new measures include:
A concise definition of sepsis
Educational resources to promote awareness of sepsis
Targeting specific areas of health and social care such as care homes and pharmacies who commonly help frail and older patients with the intention of preventing sepsis.
These measures are a welcomed step forward in the promotion of Sepsis awareness and identification. Nevertheless, consideration should also be given to areas of healthcare who have strategies which not only align with these measures but have been proven to work in practice.
The Doathon Report provides a snapshot of easy to implement ideas and projects as well as longer term ideas, projects and campaigns which could help teams, departments and Trusts.https://www.slideshare.net/FabNHSStuff/doathon-report-sepsis/1
The next link provides ideas and resources ranging from mobile simulation of clinical skills teams which can move through Trust departments/wards; ideas for clinical sepsis packs and wider strategies which aim to kiss goodbye to sepsis and save lives: https://fabnhsstuff.net/archives/?_sft_category=sepsis
We all need to "think Sepsis". Together we can.
Twitter: @UKSepsisTrust and @SepsisUK Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheUkSepsisTrust