Recent television and radio dramas highlight seriousness of sepsis

Sepsis, also known as septicaemia or blood poisoning, has featured as a recent storyline in two BBC dramas, Call The Midwife and The Archers, the impact of which has resulted in one particular Accident & Emergency department in Essex seeing over 80 people a day, fearing that they have the condition.

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition brought on by infection and develops when the body’s immune system goes into overdrive, affecting internal organs, and kills 44,000 patients each year in the UK. Although the condition can be treated successfully with antibiotics if found early enough, it is difficult to diagnose until it has spread throughout the body. The risk of death increases by 7 per cent for every 30 minute delay before treatment.

Health chiefs have recently been accused of risking lives by urging parents to take children to the pharmacy instead of to hospital or their GP surgery when suffering from a ‘minor illness’. However, the symptoms of sepsis in its early stages are difficult to distinguish from colds or flu.

Symptoms include slurred speech; confusion; extreme shivering; muscle pain; high temperature; mottled or discoloured skin; and severe breathlessness.

The UK Sepsis Trust’s chief executive Dr Ron Daniels, said that bringing about attention to the condition “can only be a positive measure”.

He went on to say “Although dramatised depictions of the condition have exceptional popular reach, they don’t preclude the need to educate the public properly. In fact, they highlight the necessity.

“We require a far-reaching national public health awareness campaign that equips people with the facts they need to make informed decisions about seeking medical attention from the right professionals at the right time.

“Earlier recognition and diagnosis of sepsis will not only prevent unnecessary deaths, it will save significant funds for the NHS by protecting patients fro deterioration and serious complications.”

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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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