Sepsis is usually explained as something the body does to itself. Sepsis is a severe, life-threatening reaction to an otherwise ordinary infection, usually driven by a hyper-reactive immune system response. Sometimes, it really is nobody’s fault – but that is not always true.
Sepsis is sometimes allowed to develop due to the negligence of medical staff or facilities. It’s a known danger for those entering hospitals for treatment, so medical staff need to carry out appropriate checks to ensure a patient does not have it, as well as take measures to ensure they do not contribute to a patient acquiring the condition during their stay.
Good hygiene
The failure of the hospital staff to follow good hygiene procedures – or the failure of the facility to implement those procedures and ensure that they are followed – could be to blame for a patient picking up an infection in the first place. Avoid an infection, and you avoid the risk of the body malfunctioning while trying to fight an infection.
A lot of the necessary precautions are basic, such as the thorough washing of hands by providers between patients and the appropriate scheduling and intensity of cleaning. As simple as it sounds, those steps really can matter.
Appropriate monitoring
The risk of sepsis after any kind of invasive treatment is real, so staff members need to monitor patients and not be tempted to release them too early. They should also inform patients and family members of the warning signs of infection to look out for when they get home.
Fast action
Sepsis advances quickly, so hospitals and staff must act quickly at the first signs (or the suspected first signs) of it. Not having enough staff or failing to take a patient’s concerns seriously could all allow sepsis to develop.
If you believe the harm from sepsis that you or a loved one suffered after medical treatment was avoidable, then you may want to learn more about the possibility of bringing a medical negligence claim.