Medical staff urged to suspect sepsis in patients sooner
- Jul 13, 2016
- EmmaArnold
New guidelines recommended to treat sepsis in patients the same way as a heart attack.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ask medical professionals to consider sepsis early on when treating patients.
NICE urges medics to question whether a patient could potentially have sepsis whenever unwell with an infection.
If a patient complains of chest pains then medics would consider a heart attack - NICE expect the same consideration with sepsis.
Sepsis can result in organ failure or even death if left untreated and symptoms include a fever, fast breathing and fast heart rate after suffering an infection or injury.
Hannah Bottomley, clinical negligence solicitor at PotterReesDolan, said:
These guidelines are the first time NICE have put in place specific recommendations in relation to sepsis and make clear that whilst the symptoms and presentation can be vague, due to the complicated and potentially fatal nature of sepsis
I anticipate that the introduction of guidelines for the first time will be welcomed by the UK Sepsis Trust (UKST). They are committed to changing the way the NHS deals with Sepsis, to increase public awareness and support those affected by Sepsis. The UKST estimates that every year in the UK there are 150,000 cases of Sepsis, resulting in a staggering 44,000 deaths – more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.
I hope that by introducing the guidelines there is increased identification of sepsis by the medical profession and some of those 44,000 deaths a year are able to be avoided.
Patients have sadly died unnecessarily from sepsis due to staff not thinking to diagnose sepsis soon enough.
With initial symptoms being similar to a common virus, medics do need to start thinking, "Could this be sepsis?" when treating patients.
These guidelines from NICE come after a baby boy passed away when a 999 call-handler failed to spot the signs of his serious illness.
Why not read about a clinical negligence claim of PotterReesDolan where our client had her leg amputated after she developed septicemia.