There are still too many people dying from sepsis due to "the same mistakes” highlighted more than a decade ago, Britain’s health ombudsman has warned, saying diagnosis and treatment were taking too long.
Rob Behrens, who handles complaints about the NHS, said there were still delays in spotting and treating the condition in hospitals. He identified insufficient staff training, poor communication, poor record-keeping and missed opportunities for follow-up care.
The UK Sepsis Trust estimates about 48 000 people die each year from sepsis-related illnesses, “thousands” of which are preventable, reports BBC News.
NHS England said it was working to improve sepsis management.
In 2013, the ombudsman looked into several sepsis deaths and concluded patients were not being diagnosed or treated quickly enough. Various recommendations were made at the time.
However, in a new report, the service found that although some progress had been made in the past 10 years, “significant improvements” were urgently needed to avoid more deaths.
Behrens also said the NHS needed to “listen to patients and their families when they raise concerns”, and that crucially, NHS staff must be sepsis-aware”.
Recently, he said he wanted to see the introduction of “Martha’s rule”, which would entitle patients to a second medical opinion about their hospital care.
The rule, which is to be introduced by the NHS, is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis after a cycling accident in 2021.
An inquest found she would have survived if her care had been better.
Sepsis report
BBC article – Sepsis failings still causing too many deaths – ombudsman (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Only one of four sepsis screening tools ‘reasonably accurate’ – German study
CDC issues new guidelines on sepsis management
High rates of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in SA ICU wards
WHO report on global epidemiology and the burden of sepsis — 1 in 5 deaths