NHS England endorses a consistent approach to early identification and treatment of sepsis.

What is sepsis?

Sepsis is caused by a dysregulated response to an infection that can lead to organ dysfunction and death if not treated promptly. Without early identification and treatment there is a significant risk of long-term disability or death.

Sepsis can occur at any age but is more common in the very young or very old, it can occur in  those who have just had surgery and those with weakened immune systems.

Sepsis can be extremely difficult to recognise and diagnose, but sometimes it can be prevented, and it is treatable in many cases.

For further information on sepsis symptoms, please visit  Symptoms of sepsis – NHS on the NHSuk website.

National Early Warning Score (NEWS)

The National Early Warning Score NEWS was developed by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012 to standardise the process of recording, scoring and responding to changes in routinely measured physiological parameters in acutely ill patients.

In December 2017, an updated version of NEWS was produced by the Royal College of Physicians. It contains improvements on the previous version. For example, the chronic hypoxia sub chart helps to better tailor escalation to baseline oxygen levels in those with respiratory disease. It also includes the addition of delirium to the consciousness sub chart, and the reinforcement of the value of aggregate scores versus single parameter extreme recordings.

NHS England formally endorsed NEWS2  and mandated its use in all acute hospitals   and ambulances. England became the first country, globally, to have a single nationally standardised early warning system for identifying acutely ill patients