Sepsis-related deaths of two children prompt review
CDDFTAn NHS trust is carrying out a review into how it recognises and treats sepsis following the deaths of two young patients in cases where this extreme reaction to infection was involved.
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) said two youngsters had died in cases involving sepsis in the past 12 months and as a result it was seeking to "improve how we recognise and respond to sepsis".
Sepsis, where the body overreacts to infection, can develop and progress rapidly and be life-threatening, the trust said.
"We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to provide the safest possible care for children and young people," a CDDFT spokesperson said.
About 150 sepsis-related child deaths occur each year in England, according to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
CDDFT said it was looking at the care it had provided to the two young people who had died to see whether anything could have been done differently.
In a report the trust said the two deaths had led to concerns about the "observations and the recognition and the escalation of sepsis".
A spokesperson said it was improving staff training, education and awareness on sepsis and was seeking to ensure that national sepsis screening tools were used consistently.
"We will continue to monitor progress through our clinical governance processes and act on any further improvements identified through the review," they said.
