Reimagining sepsis care from national strategy to the patient bedside

Sepsis care in the UK is entering a potentially transformative phase. In an interview with SelectScience^®, Ron Daniels, founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust and an NHS intensive care consultant, describes how the charity is working with policymakers, healthcare providers, and international partners to improve recognition, treatment, and measurement of the condition.

A national framework with an ambitious goal

At the center of this work is England’s new Modern Service Framework (MSF) for sepsis. Designed to drive major improvements in selected priority conditions, the framework places sepsis alongside cardiovascular disease and mental health. Daniels sits on the committee designing the MSF representing the UK Sepsis Trust.

“We’ve set out some really ambitious proposals in which we aim to reduce both mortality and morbidity from sepsis for all people by 25% over the next 10 years,” he says. With an estimated 40,000 or more deaths from sepsis each year, he explains, achieving that goal could save thousands of lives.

The framework extends beyond emergency treatment. Its proposals include workforce planning, professional education, a stronger culture of recognition, new care pathways, specialist hospital sepsis units for patients who do not require intensive care, and appropriate care in community settings. Research and innovation underpin the program.

Bringing diagnostics closer to patients

Daniels sees diagnostics as one of the framework’s most important opportunities. He grouped them into three broad functions: distinguishing bacterial infection from viral infection or no infection; stratifying risk to identify patients who need urgent assessment or are likely to deteriorate; and identifying pathogens and their likely antimicrobial susceptibility.

The MSF calls for faster, more integrated access to these tools. Laboratory-based sepsis tests should be prioritized and supported around the clock by staff able to load, analyze, and report them quickly. Near-patient testing in acute care should be supported by laboratory professionals, while community diagnostic hubs could help clinicians make safe treatment and referral decisions within hours.

As Daniels puts it, “Diagnostics are the horizontal work stream that cuts across all facets of sepsis recognition and management.” He adds that integrating scientific and technological progress into clinical systems “will not only achieve huge inroads to saving these 25% more lives, but will also be world-leading.”

Turning guidance into everyday practice

Education remains another core area of the Trust’s work. Rather than acting alone, the charity contributes practical tools within a wider ecosystem that includes specialist societies, the NHS, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations. Its particular strength, Daniels says, is translating international and NICE guidance into resources that clinicians can use at the bedside.

These include Red Flag Sepsis, a recognition strategy based on the NEWS2 early warning score, and the Sepsis Six treatment pathway. The Trust supports professionals in hospitals and community settings through e-learning, online and in-person training, and a CPD-accredited train-the-trainer program that enables provider organizations to educate their own workforces. New resources are also being developed for maternity and neonatal care.

“Our education is all around empowering, often junior, relatively inexperienced health professionals, to do the right thing every time,” Daniels says.

Standardization, audit, and human-led data

The UK Sepsis Trust is also advocating for consistent national action. Daniels notes that healthcare systems can learn from the UK’s use of NEWS2, its relative uniformity, and its ability to compare data across organizations. Internationally, he sees a need to move beyond isolated local programs toward national sepsis action plans.

Better measurement is equally important. Current estimates often rely on coded administrative data, which can make comparisons between countries unreliable. A national clinical audit of sepsis and infection in England is expected to support more granular, patient-level analysis that brings together vital signs, demographics, laboratory results, and other clinical information.

Artificial intelligence may help interpret these data, but Daniels emphasizes that technology cannot lead the effort alone, “AI will inevitably play a role here, but on its own, it’s not the only solution. This needs to be led by humans.”

What success would look like in the next year

The immediate challenge is implementation. Over the next 12 months, Daniels wants to see meaningful progress in three areas: better integration of diagnostics in hospitals and communities, routine high-quality education for healthcare professionals, and the first outputs from a national clinical audit.

“Clinicians in England should have better access to high-quality diagnostic information so they can make the right decisions,” Daniels says. He also wants better data on the burden of sepsis and regional variation, alongside a workforce that recognizes sepsis, understands the required response, and contributes to improvement data.

The Trust will continue engaging with Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, recognizing that each nation may require different implementation mechanisms. It is also contributing internationally, sharing lessons while learning from investment and improvement programs in countries including France, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland.

Together, these priorities point to a more coordinated approach to sepsis care, combining faster diagnostics, practical education, standardized pathways, and stronger national data. Turning the framework’s ambition into consistent clinical practice will be crucial to improving outcomes and delivering lasting change for patients across the UK.

Ron Daniels spoke with Sonia Nicholas, Managing Editor and Clinical Lead at SelectScience, as part of the CLINICAL24 campaign exploring the people, technologies, and innovations shaping modern clinical laboratories.