BLUEPRINT TO END THE SEPSIS SCANDAL
Text message warnings dramatically boost chances of saving victims’ lives
A TEXT message warning system which alerts doctors to cases of sepsis is revolutionising the fight against the killer disease.
Pioneered by a leading teaching hospital, the system has led to a seven-fold increase in the number of patients getting life- saving drugs. The alerts have proved so successful during a two-year pilot that NHS bosses plan to expand the system to other hospitals.
Only last Friday new figures showed the number of patients dying from ‘silent killer’ sepsis in English hospitals had jumped by a third in two years. Researchers blamed over-crowded wards and staffing shortages, but NHS officials insisted the rise was mostly down to better classification.
Sepsis occurs when the body over-reacts to an everyday infection or virus. It is commonly triggered by a skin infection, chest infection, pneumonia or the flu.
The illness is notoriously difficult
to diagnose and patients’ risk of death significantly increases for every hour they are not given antibiotics.
The alert system developed by Cambridge university Hospitals works by constantly analysing patients’ observations, as recorded by staff on handheld devices. These include temperature, pulse, blood pressure and level of consciousness which are taken at various stages as patients are assessed in A&E.
If the observations suggest a patient might have sepsis, a textmessage warning appears on the hand-held device of the doctor or nurse looking after them.
Doctors at Cambridge university say the system is undoubtedly saving lives. They are now working alongside NHS England to roll it out in other hospitals.
There are 250,000 cases of sepsis in the UK each year and it claims 44,000