Hundreds of children are dying needlessly from sepsis every year, damning report warns

Hundreds of children are still dying needlessly from sepsis every year, a damning report warns today.

Around one in six of all child deaths in the past three years has been caused by infections, according to the National Child Mortality Database.

Sepsis was reported in almost half of the 1,507 child fatalities from infection, with babies found to be most at risk.

But experts said it is likely the majority of these deaths will have been caused by the condition, which is often poorly diagnosed and recorded despite growing awareness among the public and the health community.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body overreacting to an infection, leading to a dangerous drop in blood pressure and organ failure.

If it is caught early, antibiotics can ease the infection. But if it is not treated in time, there is little doctors can do to control the spread of the infection. 

University of Bristol experts found children with underlying health conditions were significantly more likely to die. This was also true of black, Asian and Pakistani children.

Those from poorer backgrounds were twice as likely to die than their more affluent peers, the report’s authors said, with deaths more common in cities than in rural settings.  

Children with learning difficulties were at especially high risk, accounting for 67 per cent of deaths in those aged between five and 17.

More than a third of deaths were found to have ‘modifiable factors’, suggesting their deaths could have been avoided. 

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body overreacting to an infection, leading to a dangerous drop in blood pressure and organ failure (Stock Image)

The report says: ‘Examples included lack of clinical recognition of the deteriorating child, delays in treatment, and failure to escalate for a timely senior review.

‘Other service provision factors included poor communication within or between agencies, and with families; this included factors where parental concerns were not listened to and acted on by healthcare professionals.’

It comes ten years after a landmark report led to new standards for diagnosis and treatment. 

Dr Ron Daniels, executive director of the UK Sepsis Trust, said that it is ‘beyond disappointing’ that hospitals are making the same mistakes as a decade ago.

In 2016, the Daily Mail launched the End the Sepsis Scandal campaign following the tragic case of William Mead, who died at 12 months old after a catalogue of errors and misdiagnoses.