Staff raise awareness of the warning signs on 13th September
Tuesday, 13 September: Staff at Tallaght Hospital joined healthcare colleagues across the globe in marking World Sepsis Day today. It’s part of Sepsis Awareness Month during which specific efforts are made to educate the public about sepsis, how it affects the body and how to recognise the symptoms so that it can be treated quickly.
Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight an infection trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body, which can lead to a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail. If sepsis progresses to septic shock and the patient’s blood pressure drops dramatically, the condition can become life-threatening.
Anyone can develop sepsis, but it is most common and most dangerous in older adults or those with weakened immune systems. Early treatment of sepsis, usually with antibiotics and large amounts of intravenous fluids, improves chances for survival.
As part of Tallaght Hospital’s Zero Harm initiative, which aims to reduce preventable illnesses through innovation and public information, there were two information stands on-site to inform the public and remind staff of the key signs to look out for which in patients with an infection include the following:
- Slurred Speech, confusion, weakness
- Increased heartbeat of over 90 beats per minute, fast breathing, passing very little urine
- Rigors, chills – severing shivering and/of high temperature
- Skin colour changes – skin is cold, pale, mottled or warm and flushed
Commenting ahead of World Sepsis Day, Dr. Daragh Fahey, Director of Quality, Safety and Risk Management at Tallaght Hospital, said: “Tallaght Hospital is very proud to support World Sepsis Day. Through raising awareness of the condition and reminding people of the signs to look out for, we can continue to reduce the risk to patients. This is an excellent opportunity for both staff and the public to ensure they are familiar with the signs for sepsis as part of our ongoing Zero Harm Initiative which aims to reduce preventable illnesses through innovation and public information.” Ends
About Tallaght Hospital
Tallaght Hospital is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, providing child-health, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The hospital has 495 adult beds and 67 paediatric bed with 2,600 people on staff. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre.
Tallaght Hospital is one of two main teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. Tallaght Hospital is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.
A new satellite centre is to be built at Tallaght Hospital as part of the National Children’s Hospital project as a key element of an integrated clinical network for paediatric services nationally.
The hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 45,551 Adult ED Attendances and 32,272 Paediatric Attendances in 2015. A further 206,169 patients were treated through the hospital’s outpatient clinics in 2015. The hospital’s operations are supported by a community of 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.
