Sepsis in community-based care

Sepsis contributes to over 40,000 deaths annually. Some deaths are preventable. Prompt recognition of sepsis and rapid intervention will help reduce the number of deaths occurring annually. Asking the question ‘Could this be sepsis?’ is a critical when assessing a deteriorating patient.

Recognising its importance and the need for specialised training, NHS England has developed an e-learning programme to offer guidance on improving the diagnosis and management of sepsis across various settings.

This programme includes sessions aimed at healthcare professionals as well as anyone working with patients in community-based settings. The elearning content is based on the latest NICE guidance on recognising and responding to suspected sepsis in adults, children and young people, and people with a learning disability. There will be other sessions added at a later stage to cover more specialist areas. 

For adult sepsis session, please note that the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) acknowledges NHS England’s recommendation for paramedics to be given NEWS2 scores upon arrival, despite NEWS2 not being validated for primary care. While the use of NEWS2 is not mandatory for assessing patients at risk of deterioration, we have included its calculation in this e-learning module to demonstrate the physiological measurements in the case studies.