The NHS will aim to prevent thousands of deaths from sepsis by 2035 as part of a series of measures to improve treatment of the deadly condition.
Sepsis is a life-threatening response in the body to infection, which can cause significant damage to tissues and organs, and is estimated to cause about 4,000 deaths per year in England.
The NHS blueprint includes measures to give people at risk of sepsis wearable devices that could be on their mobile phones or worn as watches or bracelets.
The device, tested by the NHS, will monitor people’s vital signs at home, including blood pressure and heart rate, and automatically signal if a person’s condition has worsened and they need to be tested for sepsis.
People who are taking immunosuppressive treatments, such as certain cancer patients, older people or people with catheters or severe mental illness, are at higher risk for sepsis.
NHS figures show there were more than 118,000 emergency admissions for sepsis in 2024/25.
People are much more likely to survive if sepsis is detected promptly – the risk of death increases by 8% for every hour of delay in treatment.
Some hospitals have started giving wearable technology to patients at risk of sepsis to detect the deadly infection.
Cancer patients receiving CAR T cell therapy treatment at University College London Hospitals wear a device on their chest that measures heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature – known risk factors for sepsis and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) – as part of the clinical trial.
Once the device detects concerning symptoms, NHS clinicians are alerted to perform a rapid review, which will enable them to quickly administer life-saving antibiotics to treat any infections.
Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, deputy medical director of NHS England, said: “Each year, sepsis causes thousands of deaths and leaves thousands more with long-term disability, so it is vital that the NHS has an ambitious plan to reduce this harm over the next decade.
The best way to deal with sepsis is to catch it early – the longer sepsis goes undetected, the less likely a person is to survive or make a full recovery.
“That’s why the NHS will trial new wearable devices that will allow people’s vital signs to be monitored at home – so that if they deteriorate, they can be tested and treated faster.
“It’s important that everyone is aware of the symptoms of sepsis, which can include difficulty breathing, dramatic changes in temperature, or not having to urinate for a time – so if you or someone you know has these symptoms, please don’t hesitate to call 999 immediately, and you can also find out more information about the condition at nhs.uk/sepsis.”
The NHS blueprint includes starting work immediately to improve the way care is delivered across the service, as well as an ambitious programme of research and innovation to develop new technologies that will improve how quickly and accurately doctors can detect and treat sepsis.
Today’s modernised service framework for sepsis is one of several new strategies the NHS is publishing to improve patient outcomes for key conditions.
This framework sits alongside a new quality strategy published today which aims to improve the safety, effectiveness and experience of care across all NHS settings.
Patient Safety Minister Preet Gill said: “Sepsis is a devastating and sometimes fatal condition. Behind every case there is a patient and a family, and we have heard too many heartbreaking examples where signs of a worsening condition were not recognised quickly enough.
“The families who have turned unimaginable loss into action have helped drive fundamental change in the way we think about patient safety, ensuring patients and loved ones are listened to, concerns are acted upon, and the NHS is informed when things go wrong.
“This new framework represents an important step forward in improving the way we identify and respond to sepsis, using innovation and technology to support physicians and help save lives.
“With the new quality strategy published today, we are building an NHS that puts safety, learning and improvement at its heart, with innovation and patients at the heart of everything we do.”
Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, said, “Today’s publication of the Sepsis Modern Services Framework marks significant progress for patient safety and takes an essential step towards saving more lives from sepsis and improving outcomes for survivors.
“At the UK Sepsis Trust, we welcome plans to enhance the delivery of sepsis identification and serious infection management; the integration of rapid and point-of-care diagnostics; and wearable technologies, with stronger support for survivors and advanced, high-quality data.
case study
Cancer patients receiving CAR T cell therapy treatment at University College London Hospitals wear a device on their chest that measures heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature – known risk factors for sepsis and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) – as part of the clinical trial.
“CRS and sepsis are both life-threatening clinical syndromes that trigger hyperinflammation and multi-organ dysfunction. While the underlying causes of the syndromes are fundamentally different, both types of patients have overlapping clinical presentations, so testing the use of the device in CAR T patients will help us understand whether CRS and sepsis are life-threatening,” said David Brayley, lead investigator of the study and critical care consultant at University College London Hospitals (UCLH). has also helped us to understand how we can recognise the signs of sepsis early.
PREDDICT Clinical Trials Still underway, UCLH has so far tested the wearable monitor in 29 patients with weakened immune systems and at increased risk of infection and other complications. “We hope to learn whether the monitor can catch problems earlier than regular checks on the ward and help us identify when patients are likely to deteriorate so we can intervene before patients show symptoms. So far the indications are that it works,” he said.
“A specialist team reviews readings remotely around the clock and contacts the on-call doctor if anything looks wrong. I recently had a patient whose temperature rose at bedtime and when it reached 38°C, the team alerted the ward staff, who examined him, did blood tests and started intravenous antibiotics. He recovered quickly without any further problems,” Dr Brailey said.
Symptoms of sepsis include the following [this is based on nhs.uk]: In infants and children:
- Difficulty breathing or breathing very fast
- seizure (seizure)
- High or low temperatures – feeling very hot or cold when you touch them
- blue, brown, yellow or blotched skin, lips or tongue – this may be easier to see on black or brown skin than on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- A rash that does not go away even with pressure – this type of rash is rare in sepsis, but may be a symptom of meningitis
- sleeping more than usual or having difficulty waking up
- not urinating in the last 12 hours (for babies and under 5), or not urinating all day (for children aged 5 and over) – you can check the baby’s nappy to see if it is dry
- Infants and children under 5 years of age may also lose interest in feeding or may continue to be sick (vomit)
In adults:
- confusion or slurred speech
- uncontrollable shivering
- muscle pain
- difficulty breathing
- blue, yellow, brown or blotched skin, lips or tongue – this may be easier to see on black or brown skin than on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- high or low temperature – high temperatures are less common in older adults
- not urinating all day or having very little urine in the last 18 hours
