A NEW toolkit has been launched to help doctors on acute care wards recognise and treat sepsis more quickly.
Figures show the condition kills 37,000 UK patients a year and those admitted to hospital with severe sepsis are five times more likely to die from it than those admitted with a heart attack or stroke.
Symptoms are often not spotted quickly enough, meaning patients may not be given lifesaving treatment in time.
The resource offers practical advice on how to recognise sepsis, which patients should be screened for the condition, what care pathways to use, when to review/escalate care and who should make decisions about care.
Other advice includes details of The Sepsis Six – a list of six recommended actions to take for patients with sepsis – as well as easy-to-read decision-making aids.
It has been produced by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and The UK Sepsis Trust and is the ninth in the RCP series of acute care toolkits. It also forms part of a suite of toolkits from the Sepsis Trust.
Chair of The UK Sepsis Trust Dr Ron Daniels said: “As a core part of our suite of toolkits and our wider work with NHS England, this toolkit will help us to save an extra 12,500 lives every year in the UK.”
Access the toolkit on the RCP website
This page was correct at the time of publication. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.
Save this article
Save this article to a list of favourite articles which members can access in their account.
Save to library