Plea To Raise Awareness Of Sepsis After Daily Mail Campaign Revealed How Children Were Dying Needlessly

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has promised a nationwide public health campaign to raise awareness of the blood poisoning condition, sepsis.

The drive of awareness has been launched after a Daily Mail campaign revealed just how many children were dying from the condition. In January, the Mail revealed how the 111 hotline was unable to spot signs of sepsis in children and featured the case of toddler William Mead – who died of the condition after 16 failures to spot the signs that he had more than just flu.

Sepsis can be triggered by any bacterial or viral infection and causes the immune system to go into overdrive - affecting more than 19 million people worldwide.

The blood poisoning condition, referred to as sepsis, can strike anyone at any age and there is no direct cure.

New changes posed by the health secretary include changes to the out-of-hours hotline as well as GP’s being reminded on their computer systems to check for the condition.

William’s mother, Melissa Mead, who has campaigned for better awareness of sepsis, said the new measures were a major step forward.

Sarah Coles, partner and medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

“This is fantastic news that the government is on board in raising awareness of the condition and particularly great news for The UK Sepsis Trust – a charity which seeks to save lives through its promotion and campaigns and therefore improve outcomes for survivors of sepsis.”

“As IM sponsors of this charity, we have seen the urgent need to improve sepsis care in the UK and with the right support, this government backed campaign can do so much in saving the millions of lives of those affected by sepsis.”
Sarah Coles - Partner

If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of sepsis misdiagnosis, our medical negligence solicitors could help you to claim compensation. Visit our Sepsis Negligence Compensation page for more details.