Latest news with #UKSepsisTrust
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Banstead man cycles length of Britain in memory of his late wife
A man who lost his wife to septic shock has completed a charity cycle ride the length of Channevy Walsh, from Banstead, Surrey, was part of a team which rode from Land's End to John O'Groats, completing the 994-mile (1,600km) journey on nine-day ride has so far raised over £35,000 for the UK Sepsis Trust and Versus wife Anne, who was 48, died in September 2024 when she developed the condition after surgery. She also lived with arthritis, and helped the charity Versus Arthritis by reviewing research a condition in which the immune system reacts so violently to an infection it begins to damage its own body, is thought to be responsible for the deaths of five people an hour in the UK.
Medscape
27-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Sepsis Diagnosis Delays Pose Urgent Safety Risk: HSSIB
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has warned that delays in diagnosing sepsis continue to pose an 'urgent and persistent safety risk' to NHS patients in England. In a new report, the independent body examined three cases where patients faced severe harm or death due to missed or late sepsis diagnoses. The findings highlight continued challenges faced by clinicians in identifying sepsis early. The UK Sepsis Trust told The Guardian that learning from such cases could help prevent up to 10,000 deaths each. Sepsis is associated with around 48,000 deaths and affects approximately 245,000 people each year in the UK. Key Issues Identified in Sepsis Care The HSSIB identified 10 areas for improvement. While based on the three cases reviewed, the recommendations may apply more broadly across the NHS. 'These reports show a consistent pattern of issues around the early recognition and treatment of sepsis,' said Melanie Ottewill, senior safety investigator at the HSSIB. Key areas for improvement included: Poor coordination of care, including inconsistent referral pathways, variation in clinical expertise, and access to medication. Weak communication between medical staff and across organisations. Failure to recognise early signs such as new-onset confusion or suspected infection. Case Studies Highlight Diagnostic Challenges The three HSSIB's investigations involved patients with a urinary tract infection, abdominal pain, and a diabetic foot infection. Two of the patients died. The third required an amputation and faced a long recovery. The report emphasised that sepsis symptoms can vary widely, with no single diagnostic tool reliably identifying the condition. Factors such as age, pre-existing health conditions, and immune function can alter how sepsis presents. In two of the three cases, new confusion — a known red flag — was not recognised. In one case, the patient's family told investigators they had raised concerns but felt they were not listened to. Barriers to Timely Treatment Each investigation uncovered different breakdowns in the system. One case showed that a lack of consistent referral processes and limited information sharing between hospitals contributed to delayed diagnosis. Another case identified the absence of a direct route of escalation from nursing staff to senior doctors for deteriorating patients. It also found that nurses were hesitant to begin a sepsis screen without confirmed signs of infection, which delayed escalation to senior clinicians. In the third case, a delay in prescribing by an out-of-hours GP using the electronic patient record system meant that a patient waited nearly 20 hours to receive antibiotics. 'These reports provide a valuable reiteration of how quickly sepsis can develop – and therefore how swift diagnosis and treatment must be,' said Dr Ron Daniels, founder and chief medical officer of the UK Sepsis Trust. 'We need a commitment from health ministers on the development and implementation of a 'sepsis pathway' – a standardised treatment plan that ensures patients receive the right care from the point at which they present their symptoms to a clinician through to receiving their diagnosis.' Ottewill added: 'The findings also highlight the imperative of listening to families when they express concerns about their loved one and tell us about changes in how they are.'
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Godstone man's epic cycle ride after wife dies from sepsis
The husband of a woman who died from septic shock is to cycle the length of Britain in her Channevy Walsh, from Banstead in Surrey, died in September last year having recently undergone husband, Ben Chavveny Walsh, her brother-in-law, and a group of friends will set off from Lands End on Saturday and hope to reach John O'Groats on 6 team has already raised more than £27,000, which will be donated to the UK Sepsis Trust and Versus Arthritis. Sepsis is when a person's immune system "overreacts" to an infection and starts to damage the body's own tissues and organs, according to the affects roughly 245,000 people in the UK each year and leads to 48,000 deaths. Ben, Anne's husband, says: "To do this in Anne's honour, to remember her, doing something positive in such a terrible situation and to raise money for charities she either worked for or which raises awareness of the condition that took her life, I feel Anne would be proud of us and something she would have done if the roles were reversed." Help prevent tragedy Anne's sister, Veronique Channevy, said she was unaware of what sepsis was before her sister died from the condition."It's hard to believe that five people die in the UK every hour from the illness yet there is so little awareness," she said."With this in mind, we wanted to do something to raise awareness so that the same tragedy could be prevented for other families."The NHS states that adults experiencing the following symptoms should call 999 or go to A&E:acting confused, slurred speech or not making senseblue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue. These symptoms may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet on people with brown or black skina rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over itdifficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
The Independent
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Early diagnosis of sepsis faces ‘ongoing challenges'
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has identified "ongoing challenges" in the early diagnosis of sepsis, labelling it an "urgent and persistent safety risk" in the UK. HSSIB's reports detail three cases where patients suffered severe harm or death due to delayed sepsis recognition, citing issues such as delayed medication, lack of doctor capacity, and inadequate patient transfers. A recurring concern highlighted by HSSIB is that family members are often not listened to when they express worries about a loved one's deteriorating condition, which can delay critical interventions. Experts, including the UK Sepsis Trust, advocate for swift diagnosis, consistent public awareness of symptoms, and the implementation of a standardised " sepsis pathway" to improve patient outcomes. NHS England states it is supporting initiatives like Early Warning Systems, Martha's Rule, and patient wellness questionnaires to aid in early deterioration detection and empower patients and their families to raise concerns.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Patients dying of sepsis because medics too slow to spot it, warns NHS watchdog
Sepsis is causing thousands of deaths a year, a charity has said, as the NHS's safety watchdog warned that doctors and nurses are too often slow to identify and treat it. 'The recognition of sepsis remains an urgent and persistent safety risk', despite previous reports highlighting the large number of deaths it causes when diagnosed too late, according to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body. Too often, relatives were ignored when they raised concerns about the condition of a loved one who later died of sepsis, the HSSIB said on Thursday. It urged NHS trusts and staff in England to learn from mistakes which the UK Sepsis Trust estimates play a key role in as many as 10,000 avoidable deaths every year UK-wide. Sepsis develops when an infection goes untreated and the body's immune response starts to target its own tissues and organs. Doctors refer to that process as 'organ dysfunction'. It causes more deaths than lung cancer and is the second biggest killer in England after heart disease, NHS England says. However, it is very hard to diagnose as many of its symptoms – such as confusion, breathlessness and blotchy skin – are also found with other conditions and there is no single sign or diagnostic test to identify it. The report from HSSIB is the latest in a series from bodies including the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and Care Quality Commission to reveal the large number of patients who die every year after NHS staff take too long to diagnose it. 'There have been initiatives to improve the recognition and timely treatment of sepsis over the last 20 years, yet it has persisted as a safety risk,' HSSIB said. It published reports of three cases involving patients – named only as Barbara, Ged and Lorna – for whom a delay in spotting sepsis had severe consequences. Two of the patients died and the third had to have her leg amputated below the knee after starting on antibiotics too late. The three incidents 'show a consistent pattern of issues around the early recognition and treatment of sepsis', said Melanie Ottewill, HSSIB's senior safety investigator. 'The experiences of Barbara, Ged and Lorna show the devastating consequences of sepsis. They also highlight the imperative of listening to families when they express concerns about their loved one and tell us about changes in how they are.' Lorna was admitted to hospital in England on 5 July last year with severe abdominal pain and a high heart rate. It took 30 hours before a doctor identified her sepsis and gave her antibiotics. However, her condition deteriorated and she died the next day. 'Lorna's family expressed concerns that they were unable to advocate for her wellbeing and that their concerns about how unwell she was were not always heard,' HSSIB said. Dr Ron Daniels, the founder and chief medical officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, said that since the success of hospitals in England in 2016-19 at identifying and promptly treating sepsis, the NHS's performance 'has slipped backwards considerably'. That is because a financial incentive offered to hospitals, to screen anyone who might have sepsis and give them antibiotics within an hour – the approach recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – ended. 'The quality of care has returned to its pre-2016 level – that is, a postcode lottery in patients' chances of their sepsis being spotted. I'm appalled,' Daniels said. 'We estimate that of the 48,000 people a year who die of sepsis, at least 10,000 more lives could be saved if the NHS prioritised sepsis as an urgent clinical issue.' Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the PHSO, said: 'These reports highlight what we have been saying about sepsis for over a decade. Lessons are not being learned, recommendations from reports are not being implemented and mistakes are putting people at risk.' The NHS's culture needs to be one that is 'open, accepts mistakes and learns from them' in order to reduce the huge toll of avoidable death, she added.
