BackThousands of people are still dying each year from sepsis because not enough improvements have been made by the NHS, according to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Julie Mellor.
It's almost one year on since the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman published its report, Time to Act, which made 10 recommendations following its investigations into the deaths of patients from sepsis – often referred to as blood poisoning.
The recommendations included a need for improved recognition of sepsis through staff and public awareness campaigns, as well as improvements in treatment, auditing and research. This followed a finding of recurring shortcomings in the care and treatment of the condition.
Today, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman organised a round-table with key players from across the health sector to chart the progress made since the report and to urge greater improvements.
Earlier, the Ombudsman welcomed the decision of the Public Administration Select Committee to hold a hearing into sepsis following the Ombudsman's report last year.
While some progress has been made, such as a patient safety alert to improve awareness among NHS staff, the Ombudsman says three things are needed that will go further in saving lives.
These are:
- a campaign to help people better recognise the signs of sepsis;
- service changes including better training and education of NHS staff to speed up diagnosis and treatment.
- better data capture.
Sepsis accounts for 100,000 hospital admissions each year, with an average cost of about £20,000 each, according to the UK Sepsis Trust. Around 37,000 people are estimated to die of sepsis each year in the UK.
The full Press Release is available HERE
For a statement of the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman, please click HERE
Source: Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman, UNITED KINGDOM
