World Sepsis Day raises awareness of the thousands of lives that are lost due to this condition each year. A solution from Medstor aimed at supporting the Sepsis Six, which is proven to save lives, has the potential to speed up intervention and help to improve outcomes.
Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Symptoms can be similar to those of flu and include severe breathlessness and a high fever. Sepsis can develop quickly from initial infection and progress to septic shock in as little as 12 to 24 hours. It is the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases worldwide, including viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19.
World Sepsis Day
Every year on September 13th, individuals and organisations around the world unite to educate and inform communities about the importance of early recognition and treatment of sepsis. According to the World Health Organization, sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide. From data published in 2020, there were 48.9 million cases and 11 million sepsis-related deaths worldwide, representing 20% of all global deaths, and for every 1,000 hospitalised patients, an estimated 15 patients will develop sepsis as a complication of receiving healthcare. It is also very costly – the same data showed that the average hospital-wide cost of sepsis was estimated to be more than US$ 32,000 per patient in high-income countries.1
Sepsis was in the UK news earlier this year when MP Craig Mackinlay revealed that his hands and feet had been amputated after a sepsis diagnosis. In the UK, sepsis affects more than 245,000 people every year, and one in five intensive care unit (ITU) admissions is due to severe sepsis. Of those 245,000 people, 48,000 will die due to sepsis-related illnesses. According to several studies the incidence of sepsis in the general population is increasing.2,3
Medstor sepsis cart
The Medstor sepsis module cart was developed by Medstor’s in-house design team to support the Sepsis Six, a set of six tasks developed by the UK Sepsis Trust to be instituted within one hour at the frontline:
- Oxygen
- Blood cultures
- Intravenous antibiotics
- Fluids
- Haemoglobin and lactate measurement
- Urine output monitoring
The cart has six drawers, each labelled with one of the Sepsis Six tasks. It has two accessory rails and holders for a sharps bin, oxygen cylinder and files. Coloured bright orange with SEPSIS in large letters on one side, the cart is easy to identify, saving precious seconds spent locating it in an emergency. Four strong castors ensure easy manoeuvrability, even in the busy emergency environment.
The cart also provides an extra work surface, with a further additional extendable section that can be used if needed. Compact, space efficient design means that while it is packed full of supplies and is a highly effective way to take sepsis care quickly to where it is needed, the cart is nevertheless easy to store when not in use.
The Sepsis Six Care Bundle as a whole has been shown to reduce the relative risk of death by 46.6% when delivered to patients with severe sepsis within one hour. With the Medstor sepsis cart, nurses have everything they need to administer the care bundle all in one place, ready to be positioned close to the patient.
RFID-enabled for smart storage and a stable supply chain Partnering with RFiD Discovery, the Medstor sepsis module carts can be RFID-enabled with the addition of RFID tags and readers.
This brings a whole new level of efficiency and accuracy to the critical task of sepsis response. Incorporating RFID readers into the cart and adding tags on the equipment and supplies it contains brings many benefits:
- Automated inventory management
- Real-time, accurate information on cart contents
- Cart continually monitors its own inventory
- Staff are alerted if any items are missing
- Reduces wastage due to out-of-date stock
- Less chance of human error
- Ensures the cart is always stocked with essential supplies
- Supports caregiving in the emergency environment
- Improves patient care and safety
As part of a wider RFID tracking solution provided through our partner RFiD Discovery, cart locations can also be tracked in real time alongside other critical medical devices, enhancing equipment utilisation and ensuring readiness during emergencies.
Medstor mobile module cart range
The sepsis cart is just one of the options from Medstor’s range of mobile module carts, which offer flexibility in design, specification and style. They can be fully customised for purpose, so are suitable for every area from bedside to anaesthesia, built precisely for the environment in which they will be used. Tamper-evident locks guarantee secure storage.
The carts are compatible with Medstor’s unique inbuilt organisation and product identification tray and liner system, which maximises storage capacity and ensures contents are easy to identify and access. Bright, robust and easy to manoeuvre, the module carts do not only provide safe and efficient storage space but are also moveable hygienic work surfaces that bring essential items to exactly where they are needed, quickly and easily
The range includes:
- Paediatric cart
- Resus cart
- Isolation cart
- Trauma cart
- Endoscopy cart
- Anaesthesia cart
- General cart
- Technology cart
RFID technology can also be incorporated into the Medstor resus cart, bringing with it the same benefits as for the sepsis cart.
Materials management
Medstor works closely with NHS trust and private healthcare providers to deliver materials management solutions that offer tangible, real, measurable benefits to healthcare staff and patients as well as to the wider hospital operations through improved efficiency and cost savings. Medstor sepsis module carts are typical of the highly effective products it designs for healthcare facilities throughout the world. Every element of each racking system or cabinet has beautifully simple, clean, sleek lines that not only complement the design of the room or building but also offer increased storage capacity, better cost efficiency through improved stock control, and dramatically enhanced infection control. RFID enablement takes the sepsis cart to the next level, ideal for the modern hospital where efficiency, and the concurrent benefits for patient care, are paramount.
As everything made by Medstor is designed and built in-house in the UK, with some final assembly taking place in the receiving country if products are being exported, quality is controlled from start to finish, with a dedicated team working to guarantee the most successful and aesthetic utilisation of space.
Medstor
Bayley Street,
Stalybridge,
Cheshire,
SK15 1QQ.
Tel:+44 (0)161 330 5577
e-mail: health@medstor.co.uk
Website: www.medstor.co.uk
References
1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact sheets/detail/sepsis)
2. https://thorax.bmj.com/content/62/10/910
3. https://www.theguardian.com/society/ article/2024/may/22/sepsis-risk treatment preventioncraig-Mackinlay
