A resource to support commissioners in setting a level of ambition on reducing premature mortality
Prepared by Medical Directorate, NHS England February 2014
Factsheet: Implementation of the ‘Sepsis Six’ care bundle
All figures per year
England
Per
100,000
Comments
Potential lives saved from intervention
9,904
18.49
Estimate based on
Surviving Sepsis
Campaign study,
Sepsis 6 cohort study
and ICU audit
Potential lives saved (under 75)
split not known
Reduction in potential years of life lost
(under 75)
Cost (£)
-
-
Cost-saving (£)
-
-
Net cost (£)
-
309,637
Estimates from
Ombudsman report
Strength of evidence
4
Sepsis is caused when the body's immune system overreacts to infection. It occurs
when the body's immune system goes into overdrive, setting off a series of reactions
that can lead to widespread inflammation (swelling) and blood clotting. It is an
unpredictable condition that can strike at any time. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are
critical to survival.
1
It is estimated that sepsis claims 36,800 UK lives annually, and it carries a 35 percent
mortality. Sepsis has a 10-fold greater incidence in the over-65s.
Reliable delivery of basic aspects of care early reduces mortality significantly- absolute
risk reductions reported range from 16 percent to over 50 percent. The United Kingdom
Sepsis Trust has developed the concept of the ‘Sepsis Six’- a set of six tasks including
oxygen, cultures, antibiotics, fluids, lactate measurement and urine output monitoring- to
be instituted within one hour by non-specialist practitioners at the front line. This sub-
bundle has been widely adopted by NHS Scotland and as part of the Saving 1000 Lives
Campaign in Wales.
Compliance with the Sepsis Six has been shown to reduce the relative risk of death by
46.6 percent, meaning that one additional life is likely to be saved for every 5 care
episodes. The delivery of the Sepsis 6 was associated with reduced risk of death from
44 percent in the non-compliant group to just 20 percent. Achieving 80 percent
compliance, therefore, would be expected to save an estimated 15,000 lives per year
across the NHS.
Further information is available in a briefing prepared for NHS England by the Sepsis
Trust:
1
Time to act - Severe sepsis: rapid diagnosis and treatment saves lives', Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman Report for World Sepsis Day, 13 Sept 2013’
