NHS aims to prevent one in four sepsis deaths

Wednesday 15 Jul 2026 @ 11:15
NHS England

The NHS will aim to prevent thousands of deaths from sepsis by 2035 as part of a series of measures to improve the treatment of the deadly condition.

Sepsis is a life-threatening response to an infection in the body, which can cause significant damage to tissues and organs, and is estimated to cause around 4,000 deaths a year in England.

The NHS blueprint includes measures to give wearable devices to people at risk of sepsis which could be on their mobile phones or worn as watches or bracelets.

The devices tested by the NHS will monitor people’s vital signs at home including their blood pressure and heart rate and will automatically flag that a person’s condition has deteriorated and they need to be tested for sepsis.

People who are on immunosuppressive treatments such as some cancer patients, older people or those with a catheter or a serious mental illness are at higher risk of sepsis.

NHS figures show there were more than 118,000 emergency admissions for sepsis in 2024/25.

People have a far better chance of survival if sepsis is detected quickly – for every hour of delayed treatment, the risk of death increases by up to 8%.

Some hospitals have begun giving wearable tech to inpatients 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 which measures heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature – known risk factors for sepsis and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) as part of a clinical trial.

Once the device detects concerning symptoms, NHS clinicians are alerted to undertake a rapid review, which will enable them to quickly administer life-saving antibiotics to treat any infection.

Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, NHS England’s Deputy Medical Director, yesterday said:

“Every year, sepsis causes of tens of thousands of deaths, and leaves thousands more with long-term disabilities, so it’s vital the NHS has an ambitious plan to reduce this harm over the next decade.

“Key to tackling sepsis is catching it early – the longer sepsis goes undetected the less chance a person has to survive or make a full recovery.

“That’s why the NHS will be trialling new wearable devices that will allow people’s vital signs to be monitored at home – so that if they deteriorate, they can get tested and treated faster.

“It is vital that everyone is aware of the signs of sepsis which can include difficulty breathing, a dramatic change in temperature, or not peeing for a time – so please do not hesitate calling 999 immediately if you or someone you know has these symptoms, and you can also find out more at nhs.uk/sepsis.”

The NHS blueprint includes work starting immediately to improve how care is delivered across the service, and an ambitious programme of research and innovation to develop new technologies which will improve how quickly and accurately clinicians can detect and treat sepsis.

Yesterday’s modern service framework for sepsis is one of several new strategies the NHS is publishing to improve patient outcomes for major conditions.

The frameworks sit alongside a new Quality strategy also published yesterday which aims to improve the safety, effectiveness, and experience of care across all NHS settings.

Minister for Patient Safety Preet Gill yesterday said:

“Sepsis is a devastating and sometimes fatal condition. Behind every case is a patient and a family, and we have heard too many heartbreaking examples where signs of deterioration were not recognised quickly enough.

“Families who have turned unimaginable loss into action have helped drive a fundamental change in how we think about patient safety, ensuring patients and loved ones are listened to, concerns are acted on, and the NHS learns when things go wrong.

“This new framework represents an important step forward in improving how we identify and respond to sepsis, using innovation and technology to support clinicians and help save lives.

“Alongside the new Quality strategy published today, we are building an NHS that puts safety, learning and improvement at its heart embracing innovation while keeping patients at the centre of everything we do.”

Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Founder and Chief Medical Officer at the UK Sepsis Trust, yesterday said:

“Today’s publication of the sepsis modern service 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 increase delivery of sepsis recognition and severe infection management; the integration of rapid and point-of-care diagnostics; and wearable technologies; alongside strengthened support for survivors and enhanced, high-quality data.”

Case study

“CRS and sepsis are both life-threatening clinical syndromes that trigger hyperinflammation and multi-organ dysfunction. While the syndromes have fundamentally different root causes, both sets of patients have overlapping clinical presentations, so testing the use of the device in CAR T patients has also been helpful to our understanding of how we can spot the signs of sepsis early,” said study principal investigator and University College London Hospitals (UCLH) critical care consultant David Brealey.

The PREDDICT clinical trial is still underway and 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 if the monitor can pick up problems sooner than routine checks on the ward and can help us identify patients likely to deteriorate so that we can intervene before the patient is symptomatic. The signs so far are that it works,” he said.

“A specialist team reviews the readings remotely day and night and contacts the on-call doctor if something looks wrong. I recently had a patient whose temperature rose while he slept and when it reached 38C, the team alerted ward staff, who checked him, took blood tests and started intravenous antibiotics. He recovered quickly without any further problems,” Dr Brealey said.

Symptoms of sepsis include: [this is based on nhs.uk] in babies and children:

difficulty breathing or breathing very fast
having a fit (seizure)
a high or low temperature – feeling very hot or cold when you touch them
blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on black or brown skin this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
a rash that does not fade when you press it – this type of rash is rare in sepsis, but it may be a symptom of meningitis
being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
not peeing in the last 12 hours (for babies and children under 5 years), or not peeing all day (for children 5 years and over) – you can check a baby’s nappy to see if it’s dry
babies and children under 5 years may also not be interested in feeding or they may keep being sick (vomiting)

In adults:

confusion or slurred speech
uncontrollable shivering
muscle pain
difficulty breathing
blue, pale, grey or blotchy skin, lips, or tongue – on black or brown skin this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
a high or low temperature – a high temperature is less common in older adults
not peeing all day or peeing very little in the past 18 hours

Channel website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/

Original article link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/07/nhs-aims-to-prevent-one-in-four-sepsis-deaths/

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NHS England

NHS rolls out discreet home-testing kits against cervical cancer for millions of women

25/08/2026 13:10:00

Nearly 4 million women will be offered HPV self-testing kits if they have not attended cervical screening appointments following invitations from the NHS in England.

The NHS is starting to roll out the new self-testing kits from today to encourage more women to complete their potentially lifesaving screening to detect human papillomavirus (HPV), which can increase the risk of cervical cancer.

England’s leading women’s health doctor described the move as a “gamechanger” given that around a third of those eligible aren’t up to date with their cervical screening, and this test provides a more “discreet and convenient option” for them.

The self-testing kit contains a swab, similar to a long cotton bud, which is used to collect a sample from the vagina. The sample is then posted back to the NHS for free, where it is checked for high-risk HPV.

If high-risk HPV is found, individuals will be invited to book a follow-up cervical screening appointment at their GP surgery or sexual health clinic, where a nurse or doctor will take a small sample from the cervix to check for cell changes.

Cervical screening helps prevent cervical cancer by checking for high-risk types of HPV. It is a common virus that can cause changes to cells in the cervix. These changes can usually be treated before cancer develops.

Women who are eligible will start receiving invitations today via the NHS App, text message, email or letter, and once invited they will be able to order a free kit through the NHS App or their NHS online account.

This is the next major step the NHS is taking in its pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, by making it as easy as possible for people to get the lifesaving HPV vaccination and increasing cervical screening attendance.

Dr Sue Mann, National Clinical Director for Women’s Health at NHS England, said: “Screening saves thousands of lives each year by preventing cancers and catching them earlier, but only around two-thirds of women are attending cervical screening appointments when invited by the NHS.

“Offering millions of women an alternative test they can do from the comfort of their own homes will be a gamechanger – making it easier than ever for them to get tested for HPV.

“There are lots of reasons that may stop women from getting their cervical screening – embarrassment, lack of time, or worries about discomfort – and these kits provide a discreet and convenient option we hope will encourage more women to take up the life-saving test.

“So, if you’re invited to take part, please order a test – it’s a simple swab you can do at home in minutes.”

Cervical screening appointments with a clinician remain the best way to help prevent cervical cancer, but HPV self-testing is being introduced by the NHS as an additional choice for people who have not taken up previous invitations.

HPV self-testing is an invitation-only offer and is being rolled out in phases across England as part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, starting with those aged between 30 and 65, who have not attended cervical screening following previous invitations.

The national rollout comes on the back of the YouScreen trial run by North London cancer alliances in collaboration with NHS England and King’s College London in 2021, which found offering self-testing kits to under-screened women at their GP practice or at home could boost the numbers screened in England by about 400,000 each year.

The UK National Screening Committee used evidence from this trial in its recommendation to roll this out wider.

The latest figures show that 68.8% of eligible women were up to date with their cervical screening – below the NHS England target of 80%. This means around 4 million women in England are not up to date with their routine check-up.

Women aged 24-64 are invited for cervical screening by the NHS every five years, or more frequently if HPV is detected.

Anyone who has been invited for cervical screening can still book an appointment at any time, even if the invitation was sent months or years ago.

It is still important to attend cervical screening appointments if you have been vaccinated against HPV as the vaccine does not provide protection from all types of HPV, so there is a still a small chance of getting cervical cancer.

People who routinely attend for a cervical screening test with a clinician at their GP practice or sexual health clinic should continue to book their appointments as normal.

Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Cervical cancer is preventable – but that’s why we want to make it as easy and convenient as possible for women to keep up with their screening.

“These free self-testing kits will be offered to four million women who are currently behind on their screening to make it easier for as many women as possible to keep themselves healthy and safe.

“This is the future NHS we are building – there for all of us when we need it, and acting as early as possible to stop preventable deaths.”

Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “Cervical screening is a powerful tool that saves lives – it can prevent cervical cancer or spot it at an earlier stage when treatment is more likely to be successful.

“While it’s best for cervical screening to be done by a nurse or doctor, there are barriers that make it challenging for some people to attend. At-home HPV self-testing kits will help more people take part in a way that works for them.

“If people receive their cervical screening or self-testing kit invitation, please consider taking up the offer and encourage loved ones to do the same. Beating cervical cancer means beating it for everyone, and this move brings us closer to that goal.”

Athena Lamnisos, Chief Executive Officer at The Eve Appeal, said: “There are many reasons why those eligible for cervical screening don’t attend.

“Challenges around the type of test it is, limited awareness around HPV and its role in cancer development, as well as practical barriers such as problems around booking and attending an appointment, stop many from going.

“Cervical screening is designed to prevent cervical cancer rather than respond to symptoms, attending a clinic requires people to actively prioritise an appointment among the many competing demands of everyday life.

“Self-testing which can be done at home will be a step-change for many. We have the incredible opportunity to see the back of cervical cancer. How brilliant would that be? But to achieve this, we need to support everyone eligible to attend screening.

“At Eve we welcome the rollout of this programme and its focus on the audiences who need it most in the first stage of the screening pathway. Looking to the future, we hope that self-testing will provide the under-screened and never screened with a new option to help address some of the key barriers.

“This is not a replacement for clinician screening, and we will continue to work with and support those attending their traditional cervical screening, to help make their appointments more comfortable and accessible.

“The NHS has set a 2040 target for eliminating cervical cancer. We hope that rolling out self-testing will help us reach it.”

Dawn Bryant, 62, from Hertfordshire, had cancerous cells found early thanks to NHS cervical screening and feels extremely lucky that it was detected and treated before the cancer progressed any further.

She says cervical screening may have saved her life and is encouraging other women who haven’t had theirs yet or have put it off, to book an appointment or do the at-home HPV test if invited.

“My nan died of cervical cancer when I was only 11 so I know how difficult it can be and how important cervical screening is.

“A screening test when I was 32 found I had severe high-grade cell changes, and after further testing I was told it was cancer.

“I am so lucky it was found at an early stage and could be easily treated. I had some surgery to remove the cells, but I didn’t have to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or anything. It was a very scary time, but who knows what would have happened if I’d delayed having the test.

“Since then, I have been regularly monitored, and had many tests and colposcopies, and although they can be a bit uncomfortable, I would not think twice about having them done again.

“I know lots of women who have put off having screening, and sadly, some who have been diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer after putting it off for years.

“It is so important women go for these check-ups or do the home-testing kit if invited. It doesn’t take very long and if you’re worried or have questions, the staff are excellent and will talk to you and help answer any fears you’ve got.”

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