The DHU Healthcare team at Loughborough Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) can now diagnose and start treatment for sepsis, a process previously only available at a hospital.
Sepsis occurs when the body’s immune system reacts aggressively to an infection, setting off a chain reaction that can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death. Time is a major factor in its effective treatment which is why the DHU Healthcare team at Loughborough’s UTC have worked hard to introduce a treatment pathway, so patients can receive this life saving treatment earlier in their care journey.
Adele Peck, Deputy Clinical Service Lead for Loughborough UTC at DHU Healthcare, said: “We’ve worked very closely with the clinical teams at University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) to look at how they approached the treatment of sepsis and applied it to our urgent care model. We can now accurately diagnose sepsis using observations such as heart rate and blood pressure as well as blood tests that were previously only available in A&E.
This approach will save lives
“We are now able to provide life-saving antibiotic and fluid treatment before transferring the patient by ambulance to the LRI to continue their care. Being able to diagnose and treat Sepsis so quickly enables us to provide the right treatment to the patient within that critical first hour of diagnosis that will save lives.”
The pathway was introduced in summer 2021 and has now been embedded into the way care is delivered at Loughborough UTC. A clinician training programme has been developed to ensure all members of the team are familiar with this approach and when to apply it.
Adele added: “Two of our experienced colleagues have led on the changes, providing training and awareness days here at the UTC to share their knowledge across our clinical team. Our clinicians know exactly what to look out for with a step by step process involving clearly defined criteria for when to perform the tests. We’re confident that this structured, time-sensitive and pragmatic approach to a very serious and difficult to diagnose condition will save lives.”