Victory for baby William’s mum – and the Mail – as Hunt announces sepsis campaign
A NATIONAL drive to raise awareness of sepsis has been launched after a Daily Mail campaign revealed how children were dying needlessly.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has promised a nationwide public health campaign taking aim at the ‘devastating’ condition, which is known as the ‘silent killer’ and claims the lives of 1,000 children a year.
A string of changes are also being made to the troubled NHS out- of-hours hotline, while GP computer systems are being overhauled to remind doctors to check for the condition.
The Mail revealed in January how the 111 hotline was unable to spot signs of sepsis in children – and how toddler William Mead died of the condition after 16 failures to spot the signs he was ill.
William’s mother Melissa Mead – who has campaigned for better awareness of sepsis – yesterday said the new measures were a major step forward. She thanked Mr Hunt for listening to her concerns and acting ‘ like a father, rather than a minister’.
Mr Hunt said: ‘I had a very helpful and constructive meeting with Melissa Mead – she suffered a tragic loss, and I am determined that the NHS will become much better at identifying this devastating condition so fewer families have to experience the heartbreak she did.
‘We are bringing in a number of changes to improve the way 111 works, and will ultimately
‘Devastating condition’ END THE SEPSIS SCANDAL
launch a new awareness campaign to cover the symptoms of sepsis – a campaign I hope will save many lives.’
William was just 12 months old when he died of sepsis at his home in Penryn, Cornwall. A damning report obtained by the Mail revealed how there had been 16 failures in his case, with a string of clinicians failing to spot signs he was suffering from sepsis.
Errors at the troubled NHS 111 helpline – which was not sensitive to signs of the condition – were among a string of appalling blunders which contributed to William’s death in December 2014.
The local out-of-hours service and GPs also failed to spot he had sepsis, which had been caused by an underlying chest infection and pneumonia. Following the Mail’s revelations, Mr Hunt was dragged to the House of Commons to answer urgent questions, and was forced to publicly apologise for the failures which led to William’s death.
He also admitted the health service’s approach to sepsis – the leading cause of avoidable death in the UK – was ‘totally inadequate’, and agreed to collaborate with the Mead family to plan a new approach to combating the condition and improve the way ‘red flags’ for the illness are recognised.
The Mail has since revealed a string of tragic cases in which children have died needlessly of sepsis. Award-winning actor Jason Watkins told how his two-year-old daughter Maude was struck down by sepsis and died on New Year’s Day in 2011 after medics failed to realise she was seriously ill.
Mrs Mead, 29, attended a toplevel Whitehall meeting with the Secretary of State and public health chiefs yesterday. It is understood Mr Hunt demanded a major overhaul to the 111 service, while the computer software used by GPs has also been changed, with new automatic reminders put in place of the symptoms and risks posed by sepsis. Outside the Department of Health, Mrs Mead said: ‘Jeremy Hunt wants to be able to ensure that the public are engaged with sepsis. It doesn’t need millions and millions of pounds. What we need is that the right information gets out to people.
‘This has been a really, really emotional journey for me and it is overwhelming to think that our son has had such an impact, and will save other children’s lives.’
Mrs Mead, who is expecting her second child, added: ‘I am thankful that, at last, Jeremy Hunt has committed the Government to making the public more aware of the symptoms of sepsis.’
Generous Mail readers raised more than £120,000 for the Sepsis Trust in William’s memory after we published his story.