• Ranked in Chambers & Legal 500 for Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
  • Featured in the Times Top Law Firms 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 for Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
  • In 2022 alone, we were successful in securing over £91 million in damages for our clients

Report finds sepsis care is improving in emergency departments

Patients are receiving better care for severe sepsis and septic shock, according to a recent report endorsed by the Sepsis Trust.

The report, which audited over 13,000 patients in hundreds of emergency departments, found an improvement in the proportion of patients receiving the best care.

However, improvements are still needed to make the high quality treatment available to patients faster.

Hannah Bottomley, clinical negligence solicitor, said:

I was absolutely thrilled to read that a new report has shown sepsis care and treatment in the UK is improving. There has been significantly campaigning on the issue of sepsis over recent years with The UK Sepsis Trust leading the way in encouraging those in emergency medicine to use the “sepsis six” for all patients with sepsis in the hope that this will reduce the number of deaths associated with the condition.

We recently posted how medical staff have been urged to suspect sepsis in patients sooner so perhaps these findings of improved treatment is a result of the new guidelines.

The purpose for the audit was to steer clinicians forward to help them examine the work they do and to recognise good practice.

Hannah added:

The sepsis six consists of three diagnostic and three therapeutic steps which are all to be delivered within one hour of the initial diagnosis of sepsis. This most recent report has shown that the treatment advised by the sepsis six have all had increased use and the hope is that this will show in a reduction in death rates associated with sepsis.

I often write about poor care or reasons for concern (which you can read below) so it is wonderful to be able to read and comment on a clear success story.

Read Hannah's blog: Sepsis: Is Enough Being Done to Raise Awareness.

Hannah Bottomley is a clinical negligence solicitor with PotterReesDolan. Should you have any queries about the issues raised in this article and wish to speak with Hannah or any other member of the team please contact us on 0161 237 5888.