About the charity

The UK Sepsis Trust was founded in 2012 by NHS consultant, Dr Ron Daniels BEM. Renowned for his systems and translational expertise, Ron had spent the previous 7 years developing and disseminating the Sepsis 6 pathway across the NHS and globally.

Our goal is to end preventable deaths from sepsis and improve outcomes for sepsis survivors. We believe that earlier diagnosis and treatment across the UK would save several thousand lives a year.

Our critical expertise is based on the charity’s grassroots origins: our doctors and nurses have front line experience of sepsis and their passion is born of a uniquely comprehensive understanding of what needs to be done.

Our vision

We want to end preventable deaths from sepsis.

Our Mission

We seek to save lives from sepsis, and improve outcomes for survivors, by instigating political change, educating healthcare professionals, raising public awareness and providing support for those affected by this devastating condition. We will protect people by enabling the prevention of severe infection and the treatment of sepsis, whilst helping to ensure antibiotics are used responsibly.

For the next steps in our critical mission, we need to work with others on large-scale research programmes, in order to:

  • Further develop our understanding of sepsis, severe infection and use of antimicrobials
  • Robustly examine the effectiveness of systems change and clinical practice

What we do

We work to raise awareness of sepsis among the public and health care professionals; encourage early diagnosis; lobby politicians to improve standards of care; and provide better support for sepsis survivors.

OUR IMPACT

With our supporters’ help, since our foundation in 2012 we’ve put sepsis on the national and global agenda:

  • Survival rates from sepsis in the UK increased from 70% in 2012 to 80% in 2019 and every year we support thousands of people in their recovery or bereavement
  • Our ‘Just ask: could it be sepsis?’ campaign has gained widespread support and media coverage. Public awareness that sepsis is a medical emergency has risen from a baseline of 27% in 2012 to 76% in 2019 (YouGov polls)
  • In 2016, The National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) joined forces with UKST to release a new guideline to improve sepsis care across the NHS
  • We developed the Sepsis Six as a practical tool to help healthcare professionals deliver the basics of care rapidly and reliably. It has been endorsed by NICE and is used in 96% of British hospitals and in 37 other countries worldwide
  • In 2017, the World Health Organisation adopted a resolution on sepsis to improve care globally and help reduce the annual death toll of six million people worldwide