Question reference: S6W-08630
- Asked by: Dr. Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 19 May 2022 Registered interest
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason patients with sepsis in Scotland are reportedly instructed to access healthcare using a different symptom list to other parts of the UK, and what steps are being taken to ensure that clinician recognition criteria are aligned with their equivalents in other parts of the UK, using standardised guidelines for recognition and management.
Answer
The symptom list on NHS Inform focuses on the early symptoms of sepsis. It highlights the importance of a high or low temperature, which can encompass a wide range of sources of infection that may potentially cause sepsis.
On 27 May 2022, Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) issued a statement regarding the Society of Critical Medical Care’s Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis. The statement outlines the SPSP’s revised approach to the identification and management of adults with sepsis.
Furthermore HIS’s Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) are currently reviewing SIGN Guideline 139 – Care of Deteriorating Patients to include an updated section on sepsis addressing Primary and Secondary Care considerations.