Thanks to early identification and treatment, teams across NHS Lanarkshire have significantly reduced the number of patients contracting and dying from sepsis.

Sepsis claims over 37,000 lives in the UK each year, which is more than prostate, bowel and breast cancer combined.

Connie Sharrock, said: “Sepsis is a condition that we are still striving to understand. It is one of the few diseases in the world that can kill a fit and healthy person within hours. It can strike anyone of any age, sex or background.

“When Sepsis strikes, the immune system goes into overdrive and attacks not just the infection but everything else around it. It can lead to multiple organ failure and death.”

In order to begin treatment as quickly as possible, emergency department pilot teams in acute hospitals across NHS Lanarkshire have introduced the ‘Sepsis Six’ bundle.

The Sepsis Six is a set of interventions which can increase a patient’s chance of survival. The six steps include administering a high flow of oxygen, taking blood cultures and giving antibiotics and intravenous fluids.

By using the Sepsis Six within the first hour, mortality can be reduced by a massive 50 per cent.

Connie added: “The challenge is that patients can become septic at any point of their hospital stay. And at the moment we are focusing our efforts on the front door, once we get reliable processes we can use this learning to spread sepsis 6 to wards within the three acute hospitals.