I have chosen this topic as it has been in the headlines recently, a GP failed to recognize signs of sepsis and unfortunately as a result his/her patient died. As a paramedic, I have made the pre-alert call to the emergency department for patients who are meeting the criteria set out by our clinical practice guidelines.
Upon arriving at the hospital after examination and hospital assessment are carried out, some of these patients are not considered life-threatening. This leads me to question if our sir’s markers are sufficient in querying sepsis pre-hospital, or are we being overly cautious for fear of missing someone with life-threatening sepsis? Are we educated enough about sepsis and how it progresses?
There are almost 15,000 cases of sepsis in Ireland each year resulting in almost 3,000 deaths and a staggering 60% of all hospital deaths in Ireland are related to sepsis. (RCSI, 2022). This is a frightening statistic and one we should all be aiming to decrease.