Victory for the Mail as ministers launch sepsis campaign
MINISTERS have agreed to fund a national campaign to raise awareness of sepsis in a victory for the Daily Mail.
This newspaper revealed earlier this year that children are dying needlessly from the condition and told the story of William Mead, a baby who died of sepsis after an NHS 111 call handler failed to realise how ill he was.
Following our campaign alongside William’s mother Melissa, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday promised a nationwide awareness drive.
Although the signs of sepsis, also referred to as blood poisoning or septicaemia, are hard to spot, greater knowledge of some of the symptoms could help people get treatment more quickly, and save lives.
Mr Hunt said: ‘Sepsis is a devastating condition and patients rightly expect the NHS to be able to recognise it and provide the highest quality patient care.
‘We are committed to a new campaign that will raise awareness of the condition and have worked closely with the UK Sepsis Trust to make sure it will help people spot the signs and get the help they need.’
Polling by YouGov, published yesterday to coincide with World Sepsis Day, reveals that 45 per cent of Britons do not know what sepsis is and 34 per cent have never heard of it.
The Department of Health is to fund a mass awareness project, led by the UK Sepsis Trust and Public Health England. It will be launched later this year and seek to inform millions of patients and clinicians around the country about the condition.
Posters and leaflets have been drafted, with a checklist telling parents when to call 999. The campaign will focus on the message: ‘Just ask – could it be sepsis?’
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 the condition, which affects the immune system.
Errors at the troubled NHS 111 helpline – which was not sensitive to signs of the condition – were among a string of appalling blunders that 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 revelations, Mr Hunt 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.
Mrs Mead, 29, said yesterday: ‘This Government funding will get our campaign out of the starting blocks. Sepsis will never be eradi- cated but we need to make sure that everyone knows about it.’ Sepsis affects 150,000 people a year and kills an estimated 44,000, of whom 1,000 are children. It is usually triggered by an infection but escalates rapidly, sparking a vicious immune response in which the body attacks its own vital organs. But despite the severity of the condition, it is very tricky to detect. It can develop rapidly and needs prompt treatment in hospital with antibiotics.
The UK Sepsis Trust estimates a major awareness campaign could save 14,000 lives across the UK every year – 38 a day. Chief executive Dr Ron Daniels said he was ‘delighted’ that the Government has agreed to act.
‘This far-reaching and compre- hensive programme will have an enormous impact on the health of individuals and families across the country,’ he added.
Sue Morrish, whose son Sam died with sepsis in Devon in 2010, added: ‘When my son Sam died I had never heard of sepsis, and yet the fastmoving and deadly condition took the life of my child in what felt like an instant.
‘Parents are the front-line carers for their children, so it is crucial that they know about sepsis and are equipped to recognise the warning signs.’