Students and staff raise awareness on World Sepsis Day

Last Friday, nursing students and staff from the School of Healthcare Sciences took part in an event to mark World Sepsis Day.

Working in collaboration with the Critical Care Unit at University Hospital Wales, students and staff played an active part in the day – setting up a stand on campus and engaging with passers-by.

The early identification and treatment of sepsis can improve a patient’s outcome. The aim of the event was to raise awareness of the life-threatening condition and to highlight the tools available which can help identify and treat it.

During the day, students and staff promoted a key message; that we must be vigilant when caring for patients or loved ones when they feel unwell, as sepsis can begin with something that most people may believe is an everyday illness. The onset of confusion, extreme shivering or muscle pain and the person feeling scared about their condition should prompt anyone to seek immediate help.

Globally 27-30 million people develop sepsis each year and approximately 52,000 people die annually of sepsis in the UK.

Sepsis can affect anybody at any age however, it is more common in vulnerable populations such as the very young and very old. It is a condition that is extremely difficult to diagnose as symptoms can be very subtle. If left untreated, it can cause the loss of life within hours.

Andrew Parry, Lecturer in Adult Nursing, said: “Nurses are at the forefront of patient care and it is vitally important that we work to raise awareness of sepsis and the early signs of the condition in order to deliver treatment early, which tends to improve patient outcomes.

Our student nurses were very ready to offer their time and effort to talk to people - their participation is a credit to them and the calibre of student we have in our school.”