‘Crowded hospitals’ lead to 40% rise in sepsis deaths
SEPSIS deaths have shot up by nearly 40% in two years, NHS figures reveal.
Overcrowded hospitals have been blamed on the worrying spike – with almost 16,000 deaths last year down to the deadly condition.
Prof Brian Jarman, of Imperial College London, who collected the data, believes “increased overcrowding in hospitals” and antibiotic resistance led to the surge. The number of recorded deaths due to sepsis in England was 11,328 in 2014-15 but the figure from NHS trusts for 2016-17 was 15,722, a rise of 39%. NHS England insisted the upturn is down to more trusts identifying deaths as being caused by sepsis. But Sara Gorton, from the union Unison, said: “This is another example of why the Government must prioritise investment in recruiting and training NHS staff.”