Sepsis deaths in the spotlight

Posted 12/02/2016

Charlie Jermyn has been in the healthcare media spotlight this week as a result of his death from sepsis less than 30 hours after he was delivered in his parents’ toilet. This tragedy has similarities with the unfortunate series of events that led to the death of William Mead of sepsis in 2014. In both cases, the symptoms of the illness went unidentified and untreated.

While William’s illness was missed by those answering a 111 helpline, Charlie’s was missed by two midwives. Microbiologist Dr James Gray, has said at the ongoing Inquest that Charlie’s death could have been prevented had he been admitted to hospital and administered antibiotics as he was displaying some of the vital “red flag” symptoms of sepsis.

Sepsis is the overreaction of the body’s immune system and this can lead to a catastrophic attack on the body if left untreated. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) published in November 2015 identified that there are approximately 200,000 cases of sepsis in England annually and that of those 200,000 cases, 60,000 are fatal. It can sometimes be difficult to identify as symptoms worsen and become more distinctive over time but the crux of the matter is that it is vital to identify it in the early stages.

The NHS is attempting to instigate change after Jeremy Hunt opined that 12,000 deaths as a result of sepsis could be avoided each year. NHS England published a “wide ranging sepsis action plan” in late 2015 insisting that staff need more training to identify the warning signs of sepsis.

Lauren Van Buren, a member of the clinical negligence team at Ashtons Legal, comments: “The avoidable death of Charlie Jermyn serves as a cruel reminder of continual education required within the NHS. We are seeing too many cases like William Mead and Charlie Jermyn. It is essential that lessons are learned and that knowledge is used to shape future patient safety for the better. Until it does, it saddens me that there are likely to be more cases like this in the future.”