Could it be Sepsis?

Not so long ago, I asked myself this question and realised I couldn’t answer it as a patient. It was displayed across the doors in the emergency department, designed to prompt staff to remember to consider sepsis. I watched staff walk through those doors many times throughout the day, rushing around amongst chaos and dealing with multiple problems. I had a long wait in the emergency department and watched as people came in and out through those doors and I wondered if they had become desensitised to it.

Could it be sepsis?

Maybe it was there for patients too; to prompt them to ask if it they had sepsis. I asked the lady next to me, “do you know what sepsis is?” she shook her head and advised me to look on-line. As I stared at the doors, I realised the best person to raise the alarm, to know when something wasn’t right and challenge decision making was the patient. We know our body, how we feel and when things aren’t quite right; we should be asking “could it be sepsis?” but how can we do this if we don’t know what sepsis is, what to look out for and what to expect? Why are we not investing more in simple, to the point education factors on common serious healthcare conditions that can be widely understood by all?

Could it be sepsis?

And so, I started my next visual pictorial on sepsis and coincidently, I experienced the power of knowledge. It’s taken me a while to draw this one for several reasons it got delayed. As I was halfway through, I got a call to say a loved one was not well – someone I care for. Upon visiting her, she was complaining of being really cold, rocking back and forth, dizzy, tired and struggling to breathe. She put it down to her asthma and recent chest infection which she was given antibiotics for. Her hands were freezing even though the room was warm. It was a Friday afternoon, I assumed there weren’t going to be any GP appointments and thought maybe she needs to rest up over the weekend and if she still isn’t well by Monday, I can book her an appointment. Well, this is what I would have assumed but I didn’t because a  thought came into my mind:

Could it be sepsis?

Having recently worked on the pictorial, I knew what signs to look out for and what checks are needed. Within the space of 3 hours, she had seen her GP, gone to the emergency department and started antibiotics for sepsis. I just knew something was off and raised it to her GP. I knew she had sepsis in the past and was at risk. I knew to trust my gut instinct and not give up.

Could it be sepsis?

This experience made me realise it is us, the people, that need to use our voice to push for our needs. We need to use our voice, our knowledge and understanding to ensure we get what we need. We can only do this by having a better understanding of our health, conditions, certain pathways and access routes. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is accountability. Knowledge is making sure we act quickly. We need to make this easy to understand for everyone. Care is not passive.

Could it be sepsis?

So here it is, based on NICE guidance and lived experience. For many years I have pushed the use of simple language, images and information on a one pager in healthcare but we are still so far away from this. Some people might think it’s “too simplistic” or “a bit childlike” and that this could offend people – to this I say what about those who are harmed or die because you are not communicating correctly to them? I’d rather cater to all and reach those who suffer most amongst diverse communities rather than try to cater for one type of audience.

This pictorial aims to help people understand what sepsis is, the signs to look out for and what the healthcare professional will initially check to rule it out. If something doesn’t feel right be confident in asking “could it be sepsis?” and “what have you checked to know it’s not sepsis?”