Healthcare workers encouraged to ‘Think Sepsis’

Health commissioners in Sefton are supporting a campaign to raise awareness of sepsis, a common and potentially life threatening condition which is responsible for around 36,000 deaths every year in England.

Using resources from Health Education England, NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS South Sefton CCG will be focussing on a different theme each month between now and World Sepsis Day 2018 which takes place on September 13.

It is estimated that 70% of sepsis cases develop in primary care, so the campaign will be focussed on supporting healthcare professionals to identify and manage the condition when it develops.

Speaking about the importance of the campaign, Debbie Fagan, chief nurse and quality officer for the CCGs, said: “Sepsis is avoidable and treatable so early identification is really important to reducing the number of people who lose their lives as a result of this condition.

“We want to help healthcare professionals across Sefton to improve their knowledge of the symptoms of sepsis and react appropriately when they recognise them. Health Education England have produced some really good resources and I would encourage anyone who works in healthcare to visit their website and take some time to familiarise themselves with the material.”

Health Education England have produced a video titled Think Sepsis which is aimed at healthcare workers involved in the care of children. You can view the video and other resources on the Health Education website: https://hee.nhs.uk/our-work/sepsis-awareness.