HEE report identifies gaps in sepsis training

Research by Health Education England (HEE) has shown that there is variation in the extent of sepsis training received by NHS staff across the country’s hospitals, and has announced a new drive to improve identification of and care for those with the condition.

The national workforce planning body examined sepsis education among a range of different staff groups and settings. Of the 25 NHS hospital trusts that responded to HEE’s survey, 90 per cent said they provided sepsis training to nurses. However, only 78 per cent could confirm that they provided the training to nurses working across all specialities.

The hospitals where this occurred explained that they offered sepsis training in certain departments, such as emergency departments and critical care. Meanwhile, 68 per cent of trusts said they provided sepsis training for healthcare assistants.

The report, Getting it right: The current state of sepsis education and training for healthcare staff across England, made 21 recommendations to help drive improvements in sepsis provision. It called for all healthcare professional undergraduate courses to include training on sepsis, in line with NICE guidance; and for employers to ensure training reaches all healthcare staff, not just those who are undertaking a formal training programme or attending regular staff inductions, and to use serious incidents relating to sepsis as learning opportunities.

HEE also said it would develop a guide for training providers on updating educational resources in linee with NICE guidance, and that it would work with stakeholders to ensure sepsis training materials were available for residential and care home staff.

The report said: “Although there are many resources available to assist with sepsis training, for example those developed by the UK Sepsis Trust, there has been no clear direction with regard to what training is required, how it should be delivered, and to whom.

“As a result there is significant variation in the training provided to different groups of healthcare staff and across different healthcare settings.”