THINK Sepsis was the motto at the Royal United Hospital in Bath today (Wednesday) as it marked World Sepsis Day (September 13).

Staff manned information stands, handed out leaflets and talked to anyone interested in learning more. There was also a ‘trolley dash’ to ensure staff and patients on the wards were not left out.

Marketing officer Rebecca Hedges said: “There is a staff information and workshop from 1.30-4pm in the onsite Post Graduate Medical Centre. Sepsis survivor Kristen Lavine, who wrote a book called At Measure of Light, will be there talking about her experience."

Sepsis acts quickly, killing over 44,000 people every year. To reduce this figure, the RUH has created a 10-minute presentation instructing frontline staff how to identify and treat sepsis within an hour. Frontline staff are then encouraged to disseminate this knowledge around their teams.

The RUH’s consultant anaesthetist and patient safety lead, Dr Lesley Jordan, said of the training: “It was incredibly successful. When new guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence were published in July 2016, we re-launched the 60-day campaign and successfully trained over 600 staff in 60 days. Our campaign spread resulting in over 3,000 staff being trained in the new guidelines across the region.

“We have already seen a large improvement in recognition and early instigation of treatment, with a 62 per cent improvement in appropriate patients receiving timely antibiotics as a result.”