UK Sepsis Trust stats show more needs to be done for children with sepsis symptoms

• New statistics from the UK Sepsis Trust’s YouGov poll suggest campaigns must be more far reaching following last year’s public health initiative on sepsis in babies and children
• In the same week, BBC One’s Panorama “Why Mum Died: Britain’s Sepsis Crisis” explored sepsis care in the UK
• The episode aired during Sepsis Awareness Month and ahead of World Sepsis Day 2017 in September.
• According to the UK Sepsis Trust (UKST), sepsis affects 250,000 people every year in the UK and claims 44,000 lives; 14,000 of which could be saved with faster diagnosis and treatment

• Awareness in general is improving, with a 10 per cent rise since 2016 in the understanding that sepsis is an emergency
• But while 73 per cent of people have heard of sepsis, only 71 per cent with young children in the household are familiar with the condition, showing that the campaign to educate parents needed to be further reaching
• Worryingly, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all respondents still have no idea what sepsis is.

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, comments: “Last year’s public health awareness campaign on sepsis in babies and children was a welcome step in the right direction, but figures from a UKST-commissioned YouGov poll show that there is a great deal more to be done.

“If we are to save the thousands of lives that are within our reach, the government must invest in a broader campaign and give healthcare professionals the right tools to provide consistent sepsis care in trusts across the country. It is these measures that will make a difference for the 250,000 people who are harmed by sepsis every year in the UK.”