Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of processes for the management of sepsis in other countries.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department does not routinely assess the implications of its policies for the management of sepsis on policies in other countries. However, the Government does engage in international discussions on the management of infections such as sepsis, including through the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has recently published a global strategy on infection prevention and control, which aligns with Resolution WHA70.7, Improving the prevention, diagnosis and clinical management of sepsis.
Furthermore, the Government supports strengthening health systems in low-and-middle-income countries, to prevent and manage infection such as sepsis where the burden is greatest.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body, and its guidelines are based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and developed by experts through consultation with stakeholders in line with NICE’s internationally respected processes. Building on the latest evidence from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, NICE will publish updated national sepsis guidance in early 2024.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to review historic cases of sepsis to help (a) identify, (b) treat and (c) prevent mortality arising from sepsis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department works closely with NHS England and other partners in the health system to support healthcare professionals to detect and treat sepsis.
Reports of patient safety events from all trusts in the National Health Service, including on sepsis, are used by NHS England to identify new or under recognised patient safety issues, further areas of review, and appropriate action that may be required. The responsibility for specific assessments, reviews and management of sepsis by NHS trusts falls to local providers.
In addition, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care receives Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports, issued by a coroner in the event of an avoidable death, including from sepsis, outlining any clinical, administrative or policy errors. The Secretary of State has a legal duty to provide a response outlining action taken, or proposed, and setting out a timetable for action. PFD reports and their responses are published online by the Chief Coroner’s Office.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure protocols for diagnosing sepsis are applied across the healthcare sector.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Sepsis can be a devastating condition and patients rightly expect the NHS to be able to recognise, diagnose and treat it early. Clinicians are supported to recognise sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), now used in 98% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England.
Building on the latest evidence from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will publish updated national sepsis guidance in January 2024 reflecting a targeted and measured approach to the antimicrobial treatment and management of sepsis.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure all infections are screened for sepsis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Sepsis can be a devastating condition and patients rightly expect the NHS to be able to recognise, diagnose and treat it early. Clinicians are supported to recognise sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), now used in 98% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England.
Building on the latest evidence from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will publish updated national sepsis guidance in January 2024 reflecting a targeted and measured approach to the antimicrobial treatment and management of sepsis.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has provided funding for the procurement of into laser treatments for the prevention of (a) sepsis and (b) bacterial infections for people with wounds.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1 billion per year through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Since 2017, the NIHR has funded 14 research projects on sepsis diagnosis and management, with a combined total funding value of over £27 million.
The Department continues to invest heavily in research and development of new tools to aid in the detection and management of sepsis and bacterial infections with the guidance of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Laser therapies for sepsis and bacterial infections are still in their infancy, but the Department will continue to work closely with NICE to ensure that when they mature, their efficacy is proven and, subject to NICE recommending their use, they may become available to the National Health Service.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to ensure all Trusts with secondary care services have a clinical lead for sepsis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In line with the recommendations in the National Confidential Enquiry in Patient Outcome and Death Report, trusts should have a formal protocol for the early identification and management of sepsis and should also appoint a clinical lead for sepsis to champion best practice and take responsibility for the clinical governance of patients with sepsis. This lead should also work closely with those responsible for antimicrobial stewardship in their hospital. This role is not monitored by the Department, as the employment of appropriate staff to manage patients is the responsibility of individual National Health Service trusts. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.ncepod.org.uk/2015sepsis.html
NHS England is continuing to work to improve awareness and clinical recognition of acute deterioration and sepsis across the healthcare system. Responsibility for recognising acute deterioration falls to all healthcare workers. NHS England has launched multiple sepsis training toolkits, including training for general practitioner reception staff and trust executive boards.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of cases where patients that developed sepsis in hospital have resulted in (a) permanent impairment and (b) death in the last 12 months.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government does not hold information on the number and proportion of cases where patients that developed sepsis in hospital have resulted in permanent impairment or death. According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 25,542 deaths from sepsis in 2022.
Over recent years, the National Health Service has become much better at spotting and treating sepsis quickly. This means that more people are being identified as at risk of sepsis. Healthcare providers are encouraged to adopt the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), which supports clinicians to identify and respond to patients at risk of acute deterioration, including those with suspected sepsis. Since 2019, NEWS2 has been implemented in 100% of ambulance trusts and all but one acute trust in England.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of allowing patients the right to request an urgent second opinion from other clinicians on the number of sepsis-related mortalities there would have been in the last five years.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is actively considering introducing the right to request an urgent second opinion from other clinicians for patients and their families. As part of this process, the Department will explore available evidence on the extent to which this could improve patient safety, including the potential impact on sepsis-related mortality.
The Department works closely with NHS England and other partners in the health system to support healthcare professionals to detect and treat sepsis. Over recent years, the National Health Service has become much better at spotting and treating sepsis quickly, including through use of the National Early Warning Score and Paediatric Early Warning Score, which support clinicians to identify and respond to patients at risk of acute deterioration and with suspected sepsis.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking raise awareness of Group B Strep in July 2023, as part of Group B Strep International Awareness Month.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on Group B Strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed, and this awareness will help eliminate these serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies.
NHS England published a revised Core Competency Framework in May 2023; it covers the mandated training for all maternity services which now includes GBS. Undertaking this training will increase awareness and understanding of GBS, enabling midwives and doctors to be better informed when speaking to families about the risk of GBS in labour. The Core Competency Framework is incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme administrated by NHS Resolution.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has an evidence-based i-learn module on GBS that is freely available to RCM members. It would be beneficial for as many midwives as possible to take the training to increase awareness of GBS.
Screening for GBS is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the United Kingdom. However, if it is detected during pregnancy through routine testing, it will be managed in accordance with Trust protocol and information leaflets will be provided on treatment and any associated risks. GBS testing is usually only offered to women who have had GBS in a previous pregnancy, in which case, testing will be carried out by the Trust providing care.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to work with system partners across England on the Group B Strep trial, which is currently underway as a multi-centre randomised controlled trial with 71 hospital sites included. It is looking at whether routine testing of women for GBS, either in late pregnancy or during labour, reduces the occurrence of early-onset neonatal sepsis, compared to the current risk factor-based strategy.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the awareness of Group B Strep.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on Group B Strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed, and this awareness will help eliminate these serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies.
NHS England published a revised Core Competency Framework in May 2023; it covers the mandated training for all maternity services which now includes GBS. Undertaking this training will increase awareness and understanding of GBS, enabling midwives and doctors to be better informed when speaking to families about the risk of GBS in labour. The Core Competency Framework is incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme administrated by NHS Resolution.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has an evidence-based i-learn module on GBS that is freely available to RCM members. It would be beneficial for as many midwives as possible to take the training to increase awareness of GBS.
Screening for GBS is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the United Kingdom. However, if it is detected during pregnancy through routine testing, it will be managed in accordance with Trust protocol and information leaflets will be provided on treatment and any associated risks. GBS testing is usually only offered to women who have had GBS in a previous pregnancy, in which case, testing will be carried out by the Trust providing care.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to work with system partners across England on the Group B Strep trial, which is currently underway as a multi-centre randomised controlled trial with 71 hospital sites included. It is looking at whether routine testing of women for GBS, either in late pregnancy or during labour, reduces the occurrence of early-onset neonatal sepsis, compared to the current risk factor-based strategy.