World Sepsis Day: When to contact us and how we can help

Each year on 13^th September, events are held around the world to raise awareness of sepsis.  Despite such events and increasing knowledge of the signs of sepsis, still far too many people don't know what sepsis is.  As a result, it’s not quickly identified, nor quickly treated and, as a medical negligence lawyer, my team and I continue to support far too many families who have been affected as a result.

So, what is sepsis?

It’s a life-threatening condition, that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organise, with the immune system going into overdrive.  If not recognised quickly and if not treated promptly, it can lead to shock, multi organ failure and even death. 

Sepsis always starts with an infection and as such needs to be treated, to avoid it developing (in some people) to sepsis. 

Sepsis causes at least 48,000 deaths a year, and over 245,000 people are physically and/or, psychological and/or cognitively affected by sepsis each year. 

The importance of raising awareness

Despite huge campaigns by many including the charity UK Sepsis Trust, who work tirelessly to raise awareness of sepsis and support those impacted, myself and my colleagues still support far too many families who have been tragically affected by a delay in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

This suggests to us that, sadly, far too many medical professionals are still not fully aware of the signs of sepsis, and as such may not follow the Sepsis Six Pathway, used now in 96% of British hospitals, which the UK Sepsis Trust developed to avoid the very issues my team and I see on a daily basis. 

Why are symptoms still not being diagnosed or treated early enough?

 To understand this, we have to know what the symptoms are. 

In adults, it can include:

• (S)lurred speech or confusion
• (E)xtreme shivering or muscle pain
• (P)assing no urine in a day
• (S)evere breathlessness
• (I) feel like I'm going to die
• (S)kin is mottled and discoloured

In children, it can include:

• Rapid breathing
• Having a fit or convulsion 
• Skin is mottled, bluish or pale
• A rash that doesn’t fade when pressed
• Lethargic – difficult to wake up
• Cold to the touch 
• May not be feeding or may be vomiting or not passing urine. 

‘Sepsis Six’ pathway

Diagnosing sepsis is assisted by the ‘Sepsis Six’ pathway, which requires a set of six tasks to be instituted within an hour by medics.   These six tasks are to check oxygen, get blood cultures (to check for infection), to check fluid input and output levels, measure the lactate, to administer antibiotics and fluids, with regular checking and input, when necessary, from microbiology and ICU teams.   

Client concerns and when to contact us

For those families we support, they have concerns about their loved one’s health and have sought medical advice, be that from NHS111, the GP, an out of hours doctor or the hospital.  They have more often than not advised the medics of the symptoms and their concerns, and may even have asked ‘could it be sepsis?’   

But despite these symptoms and concerns, we may see that sepsis hasn’t been a consideration or, if it has, antibiotics have not been started quickly enough - if at all.   

Our clients often say that they were not listened to, nothing was done for hours, they’ve had to monitor their child or loved one and when they've raised concerns, action wasn’t taken either at all or quickly enough.  

When we consider the medical records, it often reflects the lack of observations or administration of antibiotics and fluids and lack of review by senior medics, or lack of referral and lack of guidance on what to look for – often known as red flag advice. 

How can we help?

Our role is to investigate if the care was substandard i.e. negligent. Was the care of a reasonable standard? If not, would reasonable care have altered the outcome?  Could the loved one’s death have been avoided, or the loss of limbs avoided, or the organ damage avoided?  And the list goes on. 

Through these investigations we aim to support the families but also raise awareness and help improvements with the medical providers be that the GP practice, Ambulance Trusts or Hospital Trusts, or private doctors, to avoid this negligence occurring again and avoiding another family suffering. 

Conclusion 

If you are someone who doesn’t know what sepsis is, please get to know what to look out for – it could save yours or a loved one’s life.   

Find out more on sepsis and how we support families affected at our dedicated section on the website