NICE meningitis and sepsis guidelines not always being used

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to trusts stating that they should provide parents with advice on ‘safety netting’ if children are symptoms that could be a possible sign of sepsis and meningitis.

However, a recent report which has been published by the Meningitis Research Foundation has suggested that this safety netting is not always happening, citing research which suggests that around 30 per cent of babies and young children receive inappropriate early treatment, which delays parents from seeking help.

Vinny Smith, the charity’s chief executive, has said that without the advice, parents can be hesitant to seek medical attention after being seen by a GP or at hospital, but these early symptoms can very quickly turn lethal.

Ms Smith said “When a child is ill and getting rapidly worse, parents should not be afraid to seek urgent medical help – even if they’ve already been seen by a doctor that same day.”

The Royal College of GPs’ Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, says “GPs know all too well that meningitis and indeed any form of sepsis can lead to serious complications and in some cases can be fatal, if not recognised and treated in a timely manner.

“But the challenge for all clinicians is that initial symptoms often present in exactly the same way as common viral illnesses such as flu, making both conditions very hard to spot in the early stages of disease.

“GPs are on permanent alert for signs of meningitis in their patients and we do speak to the parents of babies and young children about what the need to look out for which may indicate that an illness could be developing into something much more serious.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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