World Sepsis Declaration

Baroness Greengross Excerpts

Wednesday 19th December 2012 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Greengross]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support the goals of the World Sepsis Declaration; and what action they are taking to improve knowledge and skills regarding sepsis.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, the Government fully recognise the importance of addressing sepsis—a potentially life-threatening condition. We support the overall thrust of the World Sepsis Declaration. We have taken a range of actions to address sepsis, focusing on those interventions directly relevant to England—for example, the training of healthcare professionals in the awareness of sepsis. I commend the Global Sepsis Alliance for its initiative in raising the profile of this serious condition.

[Baroness Greengross]

I thank the noble Earl for that reply. However, given the problem of even adequate recognition of the problem of sepsis, and to ensure that the desired treatment improvements are fully underpinned by quality standards, can he assure the House that the Government are able to identify where sepsis sits within the NHS Outcomes Framework and the QIPP workstreams?

[Earl Howe]

Yes, my Lords. The NHS Outcomes Framework is, as the noble Baroness will know, a high-level document intended to drive improvements in the service generally. A condition such as sepsis would be covered in three separate domains of the framework, depending on which aspect of the condition was being considered—for example, safety, most obviously, or quality, or indeed the patient experience. The patient safety aspects are reiterated under Section 5 of the mandate as well, and under this general direction it will be for clinicians to take responsibility for delivering the clinical outcomes.