Automated children sepsis screening in Nottingham

Using the most recent NICE guidelines, Nottingham Children’s Hospital has become the first children’s service in the UK to have electronic sepsis screening of its patients.

Having automatically screened all adult patients for sepsis for the last 12 months, the service was extended to Nottingham Children’s Hospital in February, allowing the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust to lead the way in early identification of sepsis, prompt medical assessment and rapid delivery of treatment.

According to the UK Sepsis Trust, sepsis is estimated to be responsible for over 44,000 deaths in the UK per year. Research into the condition suggests a strong association between prompt administration of antibiotics and improved survival in sick patients with sepsis.

Approximately 90 per cent of patients with sepsis received intravenous antibiotics within an hour at the trust during the last year.

Sally Wood, Sepsis lead nurse, said: "The screening system immediately scans the patient observations as they are taken and then recorded into NUH's Nervecentre system against age specific criteria for sepsis in children. All patients who meet criteria which suggest they may have sepsis are automatically indicated to the appropriate staff. If the further assessment suggests sepsis, patients are then escalated to the appropriate members of the medical team to start rapid treatment.”