Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure improved treatment in cases of sepsis in hospitals.

On 13 September 2017, NHS England published two key documents to support improved treatment in cases of sepsis in hospitals:

- The second ‘Cross-system Sepsis Action Plan’ outlines the activities and outputs of the Cross-System Sepsis Programme Board over the next 12 months; and

- The ‘Sepsis guidance implementation advice for adults’ will further support frontline staff in the practical implementation of the 2016 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on the recognition, management and early diagnosis of sepsis.

Also in September 2017, NICE published a Quality Standard to identify further quality improvement areas for the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

Furthermore, through the national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) scheme, NHS England has made significant improvements in screening and timely treatment of patients with sepsis.

The Government’s ambition to halve healthcare associated Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSIs) by 2020/21 will also contribute to reductions in sepsis, as patients with Gram-negative BSIs may go on to develop sepsis.

In June 2017, the National Quality Board endorsed the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) for use in the acute sector and ambulance services. NEWS provides an appropriate framework for measuring key physiological variables (temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, level of consciousness, oxygen saturation, blood pressure) and for risk stratification in adults in acute care, including patients with sepsis.