
‘Urgent safety risk' due to deadly infection being ignored by NHS, charity warns
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) highlighted these concerns after examining three cases where patients suffered severe harm or death due to delayed diagnosis of the condition.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that occurs when the immune system overreacts and starts to damage the body's tissues and organs.
In the UK, 245,000 people are affected by sepsis every year.
The three cases described in HSSIB's latest reports include:
– An elderly man named as Ged, who had a urine infection. Ged died from sepsis after his antibiotics were not given to him for almost 20 hours due to difficulties lining up GP out-of-hours systems and those of his nursing home.
– A grandmother called Lorna, who died from sepsis after being admitted to an acute assessment unit after attending a hospital with abdominal pain. HSSIB said that doctors on the AAU 'did not always have the capacity to review patients in person' and that it was only when she was seen by a doctor some hours later her sepsis was recognised.
– A woman named Barbara, who had diabetes and a foot infection, which led to sepsis. She survived her ordeal but needed to have her leg amputated below the knee to 'gain control' of the infection. Concerns were raised that she should have been transferred to a second hospital sooner and whether this would have avoided her developing sepsis and the need for such extensive amputation. She spent four months in hospital.
HSSIB said that the reports also highlight how family members are not always listened to when expressing concerns about a loved one's condition deteriorating.
It said the reports reiterate the difficulty of diagnosing sepsis in its early stages.
Melanie Ottewill, senior safety investigator at HSSIB, said: 'These reports show a consistent pattern of issues around the early recognition and treatment of sepsis.
'The experiences of Barbara, Ged and Lorna show the devastating consequences of sepsis.
'They also highlight the imperative of listening to families when they express concerns about their loved one and tell us about changes in how they are.
'The distress caused by not feeling heard significantly compounded the grief of Ged's and Lorna's families.
'The trauma of their loss was deeply felt throughout their involvement in our investigation.
'Each report contains detailed analysis and practical insights, offering a significant body of learning for improving patient safety and conducting effective investigations.'
Commenting on the reports, Dr Ron Daniels, founder of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: 'These reports provide a valuable reiteration of how quickly sepsis can develop – and therefore how swift diagnosis and treatment must be – as well as a reminder of why it's so important to maintain consistent awareness of every sepsis symptom.
'It's critical too that members of the public feel empowered to act as advocates when their loved ones are unwell, and that healthcare professionals take them seriously.
'We also need a commitment from health ministers on the development and implementation of a 'sepsis pathway' – a standardised treatment plan that ensures patients receive the right care from the point at which they present their symptoms to a clinician through to receiving their diagnosis.
'By responding effectively and reliably to sepsis, our health service can save lives and improve outcomes for the thousands of people affected by this condition every year.'
An NHS England spokesperson said: 'NHS staff work extremely hard to keep patients safe and NHS England has supported the implementation of Early Warning Systems to improve recognition and response for all causes of deterioration, including sepsis.
'The introduction of Martha's Rule and the routine use of patient wellness questionnaires is also helping patients and their families to alert staff to subtle changes in how patients are feeling – potentially identifying early signs of deterioration – while giving them the right to call for an urgent review if they remain concerned about a patient getting worse.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
The best supermarket cakes to bring with you to a Macmillan Coffee Morning
Macmillan Coffee Morning is celebrating 35 years of bringing people together to raise money for those living with cancer. Since 1990, the fundraising event has raised more than £300m for Macmillan Cancer Support. In 2024 alone, the charity provided vital support to around 2.4 million people affected by cancer across the UK. The charity's famous Coffee Morning event is a chance for people to get involved and donate to the cause. The idea is simple: bring baked treats for the group to eat while enjoying a cup of coffee or tea and ask everyone to donate money while having a good time. You can make it as wild or as simple as you like; whether it's organised among teachers and parents at a school, a sober rave with a group of colleagues at work or in your living room with friends. And there's no reason to stick to coffee and cakes, mix things up by organising a Coffee Morning with a difference. Macmillan Cancer Support makes it easy for hosts with information and advice online on how to organise the event, and a fundraising kit that contains everything from balloons and bunting to posters and food labels. Want to be a Coffee Morning Host? Traditionally, people bake their own cakes to take to Macmillan Coffee Mornings. But if you're strapped for time (or skills), then this shouldn't dissuade you from taking part. Requiring minimal effort but often tasting just as nice, supermarket cakes are equally well-received. But with all the biggest supermarkets vying for your attention, which cake should you buy? If you're joining a Macmillan Coffee Morning soon and need some inspiration, the IndyBest team has tried and tasted the best supermarket cakes to enjoy with a cuppa (someone had to do it). How we tested The team sampled these cakes one by one, considering freshness, flavour, ingredients and the concept behind each. From classic carrot cake and tiered extravaganzas to rich red velvet and a spongey take on Eton mess, these are our favourites. The best supermarket cakes for 2025 are: Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). Also operating in Northern Ireland.


Reuters
21 minutes ago
- Reuters
India's Apollo Hospitals to double AI investments, beats profit estimate
HYDERABAD, Aug 12 (Reuters) - India's Apollo Hospitals Enterprise ( opens new tab plans to double its investment in artificial intelligence capabilities over the next two to three years, its CEO said, after the company beat first-quarter profit estimates on higher patient volume. The hospital chain already uses AI tools in diagnosis to read X-rays, scan reports and also in endoscopy - a medical procedure to examine the inside of the body using a camera, CEO Madhu Sasidhar told Reuters on Tuesday. Many large private hospital chains in India, like their western counterparts, are investing in AI capabilities to improve patient diagnosis and decisions related to medical procedures, among others uses. Apollo recently developed technology to read existing scan reports and predict the risk of liver fibrosis in the future, Sasidhar said. "We are also bringing some other new generation agentic AI-type tools," he said. He did not quantify the size of Apollo's existing investment in AI. Apollo, headquartered in the south Indian city of Chennai, partnered with Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab earlier this year to develop AI-based tools to be used in healthcare. Some of them are in early stages of testing, Sasidhar said. Indian hospital chains such as Apollo and Manipal have also been increasing their bed count for a larger share of the market, including through acquisitions of smaller hospital operators. Apollo said it is on track to add 4,370 beds over the next 3-4 years through acquisition, new hospitals and expansion of existing facilities. Its overall bed capacity is currently more than 10,000. The company's consolidated net profit rose 41.8% to 4.33 billion rupees ($49.40 million) for April-June, beating estimates of 3.86 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. While its overall occupancy rate dipped from last year, in-patient volume grew 3% and average revenue per in-patient increased by 9%, according to Apollo. Quarterly total revenue rose 15% to 58.42 billion rupees, beating estimates of 57.44 billion rupees. The company said it expects double-digit revenue growth for the current financial year. ($1 = 87.6520 Indian rupees)


The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Joanna Lyall obituary
During her long journalistic career, my friend Joanna Lyall, who has died aged 76, challenged preconceptions about what people with cancer needed to know about their illness. She also raised awareness about health and social issues such as bereavement, child carers and living with chronic illness. In the mid 1980s, when she proposed a book to enable people with cancer to make informed decisions about their care, patient-focused information was limited. In Living With Cancer (1987), which we co-authored, Joanna dug deep into the emotional, social and financial challenges, and told the human story of cancer through patient experiences with her trademark compassion. Born in Pimlico, central London, to Joan (nee Kenny) and Robert Lyall, an advertising executive, Joanna attended Our Lady of Sion Convent, in Bayswater, and later studied English and French at University College Dublin. After working for the Kensington Post and the Western Daily Press in Bristol, Joanna joined General Practitioner (GP) in 1977, before turning freelance in 1980. By subsequently writing for both healthcare users, in newspapers such as the Guardian and Sunday Times, and care providers in GP, Nursing Times and the Health Service Journal, Joanna took her message about the need for jargon-free communication, shared decision making, and both specialist care, to a wide audience. Joanna had strong French roots; an aunt was in the French Resistance during the second world war, and an uncle helped run an escape line across occupied France. Another uncle, Desmond Knox-Leet, co-founded Diptyque, which Joanna saw grow from a small shop in Paris in the 1960s to a global luxury perfume brand. From 2010 to 2020, Joanna was honorary secretary of the Pugin Society and, through her writing, highlighted the significance of Pugin in 19th-century architecture and design. Her genuine interest in other people's lives led her into obituary writing for the Guardian and the British Medical Journal. When diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, Joanna refused to ask: 'Why me?' and said she didn't feel 'shortchanged in the longevity stakes'. Like many of the people she had interviewed nearly four decades earlier, her request was for effective symptom control and her long-held belief in the importance of good palliative care proved justified. Joanna was a much loved friend to a large circle of people. She is survived by her brother, Michael, her nieces, Alexandra and Katharine, her great-niece, Julia, and great-nephews, George and László.