Posted 19 January 2024 - 09:00
Posted 19 January 2024 - 09:00
News
Hospital appoints sepsis nurse to educate staff after boy’s death
A children’s hospital has appointed a new lead sepsis nurse to educate staff to detect and treat cases quickly following failures that led to a baby’s death
A children’s hospital has appointed a new lead sepsis nurse to educate staff to detect and treat cases quickly following failures that led to a baby’s death
A children’s hospital has appointed a new lead sepsis nurse to educate staff on warning signs of the illness following failures that led to the death of a 16-month-old baby boy.
Nurse Emma Nicholson will take on the new post at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to support patients, families and colleagues to detect and treat cases of sepsis as quickly as possible.
Ms Nicholson said she hopes to assign sepsis champions on every ward to ensure escalation of deteriorating patients and provide excellent care and communication to families.
She said: ‘One of the most crucial elements of the new role is the education of clinical colleagues and getting champions within wards to help educate and disseminate information. It’s about giving colleagues the correct tools, the latest policies and up-to-date information.’
Inquest found that neglect by the hospital contributed to boy’s death
Her appointment comes after the death in May 2022 of baby James Philliskirk, who developed sepsis from a Strep A skin infection.
His parents Helen and Daniel Philliskirk had visited the hospital several times in the days leading up to his death to raise concerns about a lesion on his wrist that would not heal, but doctors dismissed it as chickenpox and sent them home. An inquest jury found that neglect by the hospital contributed to his death.
Following his death the trust implemented a number of changes to improve sepsis care, including the new lead nurse appointment, with James’s mother Helen Philliskirk invited to join the interview panel.
Mrs Philliskirk said: ‘We tried multiple times to get him the help that he needed but the misdiagnosis, our concerns being disregarded, failings and neglect of the hospital led to his death.
Trusts says boy’s parents are helping it take forward learning from the tragedy
‘It is the most unimaginable pain, but this pain drives us to share James’s story and to critically support Sheffield Children’s Hospital to do better, to ensure this is not the outcome for any other child and their family.
‘We hope that Emma’s role has the intended impact of raising awareness of sepsis and significantly reduces the likelihood of further preventable deaths. We will support in any way we can.’
The trust has also rolled out an app called CareFlow Vitals that allows nurses to digitally record patients’ vital signs in real time. This is for the paediatric early warning system (PEWS), the new national standard approach for recognising deterioration in children that asks staff to consider whether a patient could have sepsis.
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Ruth Brown said: ‘We are truly sorry that the care James received fell below the high standards we set ourselves and that James, his family and loved ones should have expected of us. Our internal investigation and the inquest showed that there were failings in James’s care.
‘Helen and Daniel have been both courageous and generous with their time in helping us consider how we take forward learning.’
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