ANGELA Burns AM is calling for more to be done to identify the early stages of the life-threatening condition sepsis, which has claimed the lives of 245 people in Withybush in just three years.

Western Telegraph:

Withybush hospital. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.

Pembrokeshire South AM Mrs Burns, herself a sepsis survivor, chairs Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Sepsis.

Sepsis describes the condition where the immune system goes into overdrive and can cause inflammation, swelling and blood clots.

If the condition is not treated immediately, it can result in organ failure and death, and early symptoms include fever, chills and shivering, a fast heartbeat and quick breathing.

One of the difficulties in diagnosing sepsis quickly and accurately is the symptoms are easily confused with common illnesses, such as food poisoning or the flu.

During the 2014-17 period, the Hywel Dda Health Board area saw 4,927 cases of sepsis, an eight percent increase on previously, with 930 people losing their lives in the Health Board area in the same period 2014-17. This was a reduction in deaths of 24 per cent on the previous period, but an increase in cases of eight per cent against a Wales-wide 10 per cent.

Over that time, Withybush had 1,287 cases, and South Pembrokeshire Hospital 61 cases recorded.

Deaths recorded over the three year period in other west Wales hospitals included 329 at Glangwili, and 105 at Aberystwyth’s Bronglais.

Mrs Burns said: “Sepsis is one of the most awful of conditions and hits patients like a car crash. Very few people escape unscathed and yet it is entirely preventable which is so frustrating.

“A third of people who become infected with sepsis are likely to die, while a third survive but with life-changing injuries; and the other third, like myself, appear to have recovered on the surface but will carry the illness and its mental scars for years to come. Three years after becoming infected, I still suffer with bouts of depression and memory impairment.

“As chair of the cross-party group on sepsis, we will soon be publishing an action plan to combat this invidious infection, which as these figures show is on the rise. The plan will include recommendations including mandatory sepsis awareness training for frontline NHS staff, and to involve GPs much more closely with diagnosis and awareness.”

She added: “Sepsis is one of those really weird things, if it is treated immediately you’ve got a really good chance of it being over and done with very quickly with antibiotics.

“It’s when it’s not picked up, people can go into septic shock and die within hours.

“It can masquerade as flu; I know someone that, by the time she went to hospital, was dead four hours later, she thought it was just an infection.”

Mrs Burns added: “It’s very difficult for a doctor, you turn up and they think it’s the flu bug going around. It’s a freaky horrid evil infection because it hides, when your immune system is at its weakest it can close down your system.

“I met one courageous person, she agreed to have her daughter’s life support system closed down, her daughter would have had to have all four limbs amputated.”

Mrs Burns has her own personal reason to champion tackling the condition, having suffered from it back in 2015.

“I didn’t have ‘car crash’ sepsis, but I ended up in hospital for nine weeks in total, and afterwards was on very heavy-duty antibiotics for six months.

“The problem is I have got an artificial knee; what keeps the bugs alive is it goes to hide where blood can’t get to it.

“I had all the signs of sepsis, the ambulance came out to my house in Cosheston and said: ‘You might not need to go in to hospital,’ I would have said ‘I don’t want to be a burden,’ I probably would have died.

“If my husband hadn’t sent me to hospital I wouldn’t have made it.

“When I went in to hospital the A&E consultant said pneumonia, the nurse said: ‘That’s not right, there’s a massive infection,’ he saved my life. He put me on these antibiotics; that was the start of my 8-9 weeks in hospital; I was so ill.

“It doesn’t give a s*** how old you are, how young you are, or who you are.

“It’s a sneaky infection and it pretends it’s a lot of other things, but don’t panic; that’s why you need to monitor it.

“The big thing is about recognition, what we need to do is train every nurse and doctor and OT to always think sepsis: ‘is this flu or is it sepsis?’ “It’s about training staff, hospitals are getting better, but, as chair of the cross-party group I wrote to every single GP practise and only got 10 responses; for GPs it’s incredibly hard, there aren’t any ‘toolkits’ for signs of sepsis.

“I don’t want people to say: ‘She’s just trying to get votes; I do care about sepsis, I’ve met too many fantastic people who have lost people to sepsis. It’s about training GPs and others to pick up the signs of sepsis, and training people in hospital, it’s very treatable with heavy-duty antibiotics.

“I didn’t tell people before the election because I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me, it’s not about making a political gain; let’s recognise this little monster called sepsis and cut down on the deaths.”

Mrs Burns is not alone in calling for support to fight sepsis, the current president of the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society – organisers of the annual County Show – Richard Cole has chosen the UK Sepsis Trust as his named charity during his year in office.

Following his life-threatening case of sepsis in December 2015, Mr Cole is keen to raise awareness of the condition.

Mr Cole has previously said: “From my personal experience I don’t wish anyone else to go through what I did, or to die from sepsis when early diagnosis and treatment can do so much.

“It is frightening how quickly it can happen and how long recovery can take.

“It’s also shocking just how many people if affects and how many people die.”

A fundraising charity ball is being organised at the Showground Pavilion next Saturday, February 10 (7pm for 7.30pm).

Tickets are available £50 obtainable from the show office.