Patients with sepsis are being given the best chance to get early treatment, with a new innovation in our hospitals.
Since last month, every department across Lincolnshire’s hospitals now has a sepsis box. These are boxes containing everything nursing staff need to urgently diagnose and treat sepsis, including blood culture packs, equipment for cannulation and fluids.
Sepsis – also referred to as septicaemia or blood poisoning – is a life threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. This can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death, especially if not recognised early and treated promptly.
A national campaign recently highlighted how better identification, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in hospitals could save thousands of lives each year.
Patients with possible sepsis symptoms are required to be screened and a range of actions should be taken to diagnose and treat it within one hour of the patient arriving. Any patients diagnosed with sepsis should also be given antibiotics to treat it within one hour.
Deputy Chief Nurse at ULHT, Victoria Bagshaw, said “the boxes are one of a range of actions being taken to improve the care for patients as part of the ULHT’s quality and safety programme.
“These boxes contain everything ward staff need to treat a case of sepsis,” she said.
“Having the box to hand on the ward means that when a patient comes in with suspected sepsis, they can easily find everything they need to treat them. In cases of sepsis, time is of the essence, so it is great that this innovation allows patients to get the treatment as quickly as possible.”