On Tuesday 14th July, NHS England (NHSE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published the Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Sepsis, outlining a ten-year vision to transform sepsis care by 2035.
The MSF aims to reduce deaths, life-changing complications, and the long-term impact of sepsis for everyone by at least 25% over the next decade. This will be achieved through better prevention, earlier diagnosis, improved treatment, rehabilitation, research, and innovation.
The ambition is simple but powerful: to make sure every person with sepsis receives the best possible care the NHS can offer, whenever and wherever they need it.
What is an MSF?
Modern Service Frameworks are a key part of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. They are long-term frameworks designed to tackle the biggest health killers by setting consistent national standards and supporting high-quality, high-value, and equitable care across key clinical pathways. MSFs focus on areas with the greatest potential to achieve rapid, significant improvements in the quality of care, patient outcomes, and productivity.
Why a Sepsis MSF?
Sepsis is a priority condition for the new MSF because of the significant mortality, morbidity, and healthcare activity that results from it: it’s the second biggest killer after cardiovascular disease in England.
In the UK, five people lose their lives to sepsis every hour. It’s a life-threatening condition which arises when the body’s response to infection harms its own tissues and organs and is estimated to affect 245,000 people in the UK every year, claiming 48,000 lives. 82% of sepsis survivors are experiencing ‘Post-Sepsis Syndrome’ more than a year after hospital discharge, and 18% left permanently unable to work.
The MSF’s publication comes as sepsis continues to place considerable pressure on both the NHS and the wider economy. In 2024/25, sepsis was responsible for more than 154,000 emergency hospital admissions in England (based only on coded data, so almost certainly an underestimate), while new research from the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC), commissioned by the UK Sepsis Trust, estimates that the condition costs the UK economy £23 billion annually.
What does the Sepsis MSF mean?
UKST welcomes the publication of the Modern Service Framework as a potentially transformative moment for sepsis care. Subject to the necessary funding and implementation support, this framework could establish a world-leading approach to the prevention, recognition, treatment and recovery of sepsis, saving thousands of lives across the NHS and improving outcomes for survivors. It is now vital that the ambitions set out in the framework are backed by the investment required to turn them into lasting, system-wide change.
Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, who sat on the Steering Committee for the MSF, said: “For too long, progress in sepsis care has been held back by fragmented and inconsistent practice. This framework sets out to change that, and we welcome plans for improved diagnostics, treatment and care.
“We hope that the value of the services UKST has delivered for years – public awareness, survivor support and the education of health professionals – will be recognised in its implementation, and we look forward to working alongside NHSE and DHSC to ensure that this MSF fulfils its world-leading potential in transforming sepsis outcomes across our health system.”
Melissa Mead, Clinical Partnerships Coordinator, has been involved with UKST since the death of her son, William, to sepsis in 2014. “For years, the level of care received has been a postcode lottery, from the very best to the very worse – which we personally experienced.
“The MSF will not only transform the patient pathway, but it will also bring continuity to those healthcare workers treating it. I am beyond delighted that after campaigning for so long, the very people able to facilitate system-wide change have accepted, understood, and delivered this plan.
“This will certainly ensure that the Williams of tomorrow get a better chance of survival.”
What is included in the Sepsis MSF?
The MSF proposes six priorities; each aimed at making a real difference to patient care at every stage of the journey. By focusing on these areas, we can help ensure better outcomes for everyone involved:
- A more person-centred approach to care
- Improving awareness of sepsis
- The prevention of severe infection and sepsis
- Improving the identification of severe infection and sepsis
- Escalating care once severe infection or sepsis has been identified
- Improving timeliness and effectiveness of treatment and recover
“It’s important to remember that this is a 10-year plan, and we are not expecting immediate delivery of all of its proposals”, says Dr Ron. “Nonetheless, it is hugely encouraging to see the framework’s suggestion that by 2035, we will have the best and most resilient infrastructure for recognising and managing sepsis, for all people and in all settings, in the world.”
What does this mean for health professionals?
With approximately 150,000 emergency admissions and at least 48,000 deaths each year related to sepsis, the scale of this challenge requires urgent, coordinated action across the NHS.
A key focus will be tackling health inequalities, as some patient groups experience significantly poorer outcomes due to persistent disparities in access to care, diagnosis, and treatment. By prioritising equitable improvements across all populations and life stages, the Sepsis MSF seeks to reduce these inequalities and ensure that everyone benefits from advances in sepsis care, as early recognition and timely treatment save lives.
Craig Mackinlay, Baron Mackinlay of Richborough and co-chair of the Sepsis APPG, said: “There are thousands of preventable deaths from sepsis every year, and we know we need system-wide change to ensure that everyone is getting the care they need.
“The Sepsis Modern Sepsis Framework is a significant step in the right direction, and I hope that sufficient resource will be identified to transform outcomes for patients and families affected by sepsis.”
Learn more about sepsis here.
