Healthcare staff in Hywel Dda mark World Sepsis Day

Healthcare staff in Hywel Dda University Health Board are helping to mark World Sepsis Day.
The aim is to raise awareness of a treatable illness that accounts for more deaths in Britain every year than most cancers.
Sepsis is a life threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs.
It can be caused by something as simple as a cut or insect bite, or an infection like pneumonia. It is also a risk following surgery, or for women who have just given birth.
Severe sepsis accounts for 37,000 deaths per year in the UK– the equivalent of a top-flight football stadium full of people – with an estimated 1,850 of those to be in Wales.
It accounts for more deaths annually than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined and is the highest cause of maternal death in the UK.
To mark World Sepsis Day, staff from Hywel Dda University Health Board are holding a number of awareness stands at Bronglais, Glangwili, Prince Philip and Withybush Hospital before launching a new Sepsis Screening Tool to help clinical staff assess and recognise early signs of sepsis in patients.
“Sepsis needs to be recognised or treated promptly. Otherwise it can cause very severe illness and even lead to multiple organ failure and death,” says Dr Philip Kloer, Interim Executive Director of Primary Care, Community, Mental Health Services and Clinical Strategy at Hywel Dda University Health Board and member of the 1000 Lives Plus Faculty advising on prevention of sepsis.
“However, the worst effects of sepsis can be countered with simple treatments, provided it is identified quickly. The sooner treatment is started the lower the risk of death or severe post-sepsis debilitation.”

More information is available from: www.1000livesplus.wales.nhs.uk/world-sepsis-day

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