Properly resource NHS or sepsis will continue to take ‘bitter toll’ – Lib Dems

Conditions such as sepsis will continue to take a “bitter toll” unless the NHS is properly resourced, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said.

Figures from Public Health Scotland and analysed by the Lib Dems showed 52,545 continuous hospital stays with 835,314 days spent in hospital between April 2016 and March 2021 due to sepsis.

The party’s leader Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the Scottish Government to properly resource health boards to deal with challenges faced or conditions such as sepsis will “continue to take their toll”.

Case numbers increased significantly between 2016/17 and 2019/20 before falling slightly in provisional 2020/21 figures.

Sepsis occurs when the body responds poorly to a bacterial infection and attacks its own tissue and organs.

Symptoms include a high or abnormally low temperature, fast heart rate and rapid breathing.

Patients can deteriorate rapidly if the infection is not detected rapidly and can lead to multi-organ system failure and death.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “By some estimates sepsis is now a bigger killer globally than cancer and these figures show that before the pandemic, the number of patients requiring a hospital stay was on the rise.

“The government has taken some sensible steps in terms of running public information campaigns and boosting public awareness but the reality is that ultimately it is NHS staff who must be at the top of their game to tackle this killer condition.

“Staff are working incredibly hard to ensure that we remain safe and healthy, but they are doing it with one hand tied behind their back. No wonder they are reporting being run off their feet, as stubborn and persistent vacancies take their toll.

“Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf have had years to get on top of the myriad crises facing our health service.

“The SNP must take responsibility for the staffing crisis and ensure that health boards are properly resourced to deal with the challenges they face or the risk is that conditions like sepsis will continue to take a bitter toll.”

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “NHS staffing remains at a historically high level. We are incredibly grateful to NHS staff for the dedication and resilience they continue to show in the face of sustained pressure on services, this includes their work to deal with cases of sepsis.

“Anyone with sepsis symptoms should contact NHS 24 and if a potential sepsis case is found the patient will be triaged to an emergency department if required. Patient safety remains paramount and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme continues to provide good practice guidance on identifying and managing sepsis.

“In 2022 we provided £100,000 to Sepsis Research FEAT to run a public awareness campaign on sepsis.”