Sepsis deaths in hospitals.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122050833#Comment_122050833

It doesn't. It reeks of the old misogyny of the repeal the eighth referendum. Blaming women who had abortions for sepsis is perverse. People should be aware of sepsis but that has nothing to do with abortion.

I honestly can't believe I had to write that.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051027#Comment_122051027

There's plenty of info about sepsis online.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051131#Comment_122051131

The pro-choice people made the link between abortion and sepsis first. I didn't blame women who had abortions and there's nothing to indicate that I did.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051027#Comment_122051027

It depends on the nature of the infection.

If someone has a skin infection, for example, and is immunocompromised, it's possible for that infection to more easily spread, making it through to blood vessels — triggering a blood infection i.e. the start of sepsis.

Of course, this isn't always the case and sometimes healthy people are affected. But it's not unusual for bacteria to make their way to blood vessels. In fact, it's perfectly likely, and it happens all the time.

Biology and individual difference is complex, and bacteria exploit these differences — often very effectively, irrespective of whether the individual is healthy or not.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051255#Comment_122051255

You brought it up in the OP. It's perfectly clear what you're trying to do.

ProfessorPlum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051027#Comment_122051027

There's a myriad of bacteria that live harmlessly on our skin, in our digestive and upper respiratory tract. These same bacteria can cause life threatening diseases - from pneumonia to meningitis to necrotising fasciitis.

One third of people have MRSA - the 'super bug' living harmlessly in their nose.

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051383#Comment_122051383

Its not like he as actually looking for an answer to that question

Meirleach

Might have been a handover if it was 12 of them.

I don't think we can blame the recent case in Limerick purely on the normal HSE shambles.

The staff treated the girl absolutely awful outside of not responding correctly. Also both the doctor involved and the lead nurse have conveniently left the jurisdiction.

tarvis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122050286#Comment_122050286

I was stuck in traffic lately and an ambulance drew up on my right. Printed on its side were the signs to watch out for if you suspect sepsis. I presume this message is for the general public - the advice - if you suspect sepsis get to A&E.

But how can we be sure that A&E will recognise the signs?
Or that anyone will listen to the those who suggest it is present and act accordingly and fast ?

ProfessorPlum

There were 66 other patients triaged to the same level as Aoife that day 'catagory 2' who waited over 10 hours to be seen by a doctor when the target is 15 minutes. The department was severely understaffed both in a nursing and medical capacity.

The clinical nurse manager deemed the department to be 'alarming unsafe' and escalated this opinion to management. Nothing happened.

It's all very well drawing up a sepsis protocol, but if you don't have enough staff and resources to actually see patients, nothing will change. The HSE and hospital management can hide behind the fact that they have a protocol, and the staff on the day will be hung out to dry. C'est la vie.

Scar001

Unfortunately, we'll be hearing about another case in a few months at the same hospital.

drunkmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051642#Comment_122051642

Oh there's more to come out from there and it's not just sepsis, some terrible medical misadventures. It's our nearest hospital, people have a genuine and well founded fear of the place.

Sepsis is serious though, it's the 1st thing you should suspect, if you end up being wrong that's a good thing.

SuperBowserWorld

The HSE think their mission is to spend as much taxpayers money as possible. They get rewarded for incompetence. The more money they get, the more dangerous and incompetent they become.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051505#Comment_122051505

Indeed. While overcrowding was a factor, I don't think it was the sole factor.

BurnsCarpenter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051773#Comment_122051773

It's also shocking that the on-call consultant declined to come in when asked. I'm sure there will be no consequences either.

Reminds me of this sad case from the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/sep/03/13-year-old-daughter-dead-in-five-weeks-hospital-mistakes

HalloweenJack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051255#Comment_122051255

People didn't vote to legalise abortion in a bid to eliminate sepsis. Maybe in your head that's the only way you can fathom so many people supporting it (you said you voted no) but you're wrong.

It's coming up to six years now and there was no doubt about the result. You don't have to have an abortion but an overwhelming majority of people voted to have the choice.

The Savita case brought abortion back into the limelight in the saddest way possible but it wasn't some Trojan horse used to trick people into supporting abortion. People felt strongly abot the topic for a long time before that.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051940#Comment_122051940

It’s not even the case that Savita Halappanavar’s death was the only tragedy that led to the referendum: the government’s first attempt to solve that was not repeal but the disastrous Protection of Life Act, which led to the Ms Y case, which had nothing to do with sepsis.

The reality is that there are so many things that can go wrong in a pregnancy, whether planned and wanted or not, and it is such a massive demand on the woman, that the only logical conclusion is that she has to give her consent to carry a pregnancy to term.

Sepsis is well worth discussing in its own right though, so I hope the OP doesn’t lose interest in it once it’s been separated from the issue of abortion.

Field east

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058348312/sepsis-deaths-in-hospitals

my mother used to refer to us as children of getting Blood Poisoning. It was in relation to getting a cut from a dirty source. Eh a dirty/rusty nail, getting snagged from a dirty piece of iron. Etc . Would she have been referring to getting sepsis without she knowing it?

Red Silurian

Savita Halappanavar’s death was one of many problems we had that highlighted the problems with the 8th amendment

The recent uptick in sepsis deaths, Aoife Johnston being the most recent example, highlights the massive problems we have in hospitals, specifically UHL

There was political will to fix one and hopefully soon there will be the political will to fix the other

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051993#Comment_122051993

Yes, Sepsis isn't a new thing just the term sepsis is used more frequently. Before the advent of antibiotics, ultimately sepsis would have been the most common cause of death by far. Usually either from an infected wound or where an infection such as tooth, UTI, Pneumonia etc spread to the bloodstream.

The problem I see in some hospitals is due to the lack of resources and inadequate systems for streaming healthcare in general, the number of people attending A&E results in "some" staff having a bias towards diagnosing the simple easy to deal with option rather than the complex time consuming option when faced with symptoms that could be explained by either. Their goal is to clear patients as quick as possible and so see the easier option more readily. Its human nature and takes training and systems to overcome

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052183#Comment_122052183

Of course, even in the best hospital environment, the mortality rate from sepsis is really quite high. It's difficult to diagnose and treat effectively.

Manach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122050833#Comment_122050833

To ignore the abortion segment is rather cliched, as to ignore the deaths it has caused to the unborn is myopic.

crusd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052199#Comment_122052199

100% agree. There does seem to be a suggestion from some commenters that mortality from sepsis is entirely preventable. Better systems will improve your chances, but your chances are not great to begin with if you are unlucky enough to develop. A 2022 report identified a 45% mortality rate for Irish hospitals. Globally the WHO says the hospital death rate from Sepsis is 27%. So we do appear to perform poorly relative to others on this measure, however the profile of the patient being a key factor. Sepsis is often ultimately the cause of death in many elderly people and people with certain cancers.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051993#Comment_122051993

It’s true that blood poisoning is another name for septicaemia/sepsis, but what I remember my mother calling blood poisoning (exactly what you describe) wasn’t full blown sepsis because I never had a fever or felt unwell with it.

I suspect that the explanation is that back then, there was almost no bacterial resistance to antibiotics, so that careful cleaning and disinfection was usually sufficient, and when it wasn’t, then the penicillin you’d get from the doctor as a second line of treatment was enough to fix your incipient blood poisoning.

IOW I think the present problem is greatly exacerbated by bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We had an absolute wonder drug and we carelessly wasted it.

mykrodot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051571#Comment_122051571

the family and the other sick people in A&E were begging staff to attend Aoife before them! The Dad said she had signs of sepsis and they mentioned that and that's why they brought her to A&E! He was ignored by the staff, the very ones that were supposed to be helping!

Pat Kenny on Newstalk is talking to someone later this morning about sepsis in hospitals and what to do (I think a Pediatric consultant). The clip they played said its important for people to recognise the signs of sepsis and get help immediately! This is exactly what Aoife's parents did! They were failed by the medical professionals, who's job it is to save lives! What a shocking waste of a beautiful young life and I say this as someone who also lost a child (unpreventable and not sepsis in my case).

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051993#Comment_122051993

Probably she was worried about tetanus aka lockjaw, which is a different disease.

Most people are now vaccinated as children, and people in at risk jobs get boosters as adults, so there's a lot less of it. But it was a big problem in my parents generation.

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052199#Comment_122052199

so difficult in this case that a GP managed to figure it out

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052427#Comment_122052427

Not speaking about this particular case, as would be clear from the "even in the best hospital environment" qualifier.

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052437#Comment_122052437

that is because it often happens in patients who are very ill and this is a progression of the illness, the final stages

some times it is plain as day, like this case

like any illness really its guessing game until confirmed by the scientists and in this case, because it multiple things, theres no real test

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052226#Comment_122052226

And of course other countries don't have old people or people with cancer.

Geuze

It's shocking that when the ED in Limerick was so busy, two consultants refused to come to work to help.

We pay these people huge money, more than other countries, and they won't work.