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Hospital staff must treat sepsis symptoms within one hour (27 March 2017)

Date: 27/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Hospital staff must treat sepsis symptoms within one hour

The National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE) has urged hospital staff to ensure that people with life-threatening sepsis symptoms are treated within one hour. NICE state that anybody showing signs of sepsis must be checked carefully, and if found to be high-risk, must be seen by senior staff and given correct treatment within an hour.

Prompt treatment increases the chance of survival and reduces the risk of further problems, such as heart failure or limb amputation. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that about 44,000 people are killed by sepsis each year. A 2015 report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome Death revealed that 40% of patients admitted to A&E with sepsis were not granted a timely review by a senior clinician. Furthermore, the report showed avoidable delays in administrating antibiotics in 29% of cases, and inconsistencies in early use of intravenous (IV) fluid.

Deputy chief executive of NICE, Professor Gillian Leng, explained: “Severe symptoms can develop in sepsis very quickly. If high-risk patients are not identified and treated promptly, people can be left with debilitating problems. In the worst cases, they may die.”

In December 2014, it was reported that 12 month old William Mead was killed by sepsis as a result of it not being identified quickly enough. An NHS England report found that 16 mistakes had contributed to William’s death, including that NHS 111 call handlers, who are not medically trained, failed to recognise the severity of his condition when his mother called.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said “Every death from sepsis is a tragedy, yet too often the warning signs are missed – we need to get far better at spotting sepsis across the NHS and this advice shows how vital it is for clinicians to treat life-threatening symptoms as soon as possible.”

Divya Anand, Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Duncan Lewis states the following:

“It is great to hear that there are guidelines in place to ensure patients suffering with sepsis are treated within one hour particularly as it can increase the chance of survival. Complications can arise however when diagnosing sepsis as it can be difficult especially when the symptoms are at first, very vague. We encourage further awareness of this condition so to diagnose patients at an early stage and in turn, provide rapid treatment within the guidelines.”

Divya Anand is a Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Duncan Lewis who has experience with handling multiple clinical negligence claims including cerebral palsy, gynaecological claims and orthopaedic injuries.

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims. Varying from accident and emergency failures to GP negligence claims, to misdiagnosed fractures to wrongful death matters claims. They also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals.

If you have any queries relating to Clinical Negligence or think that you may have a claim, please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 0333 772 0409.

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