A MOTHER who's baby died of sepsis has praised new equipment available in Glasgow's sick children's hospital.
Young patients being treated for the life-threatening illness sepsis at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow will benefit from improved treatment thanks to vital new equipment provided by two charities.
Charlotte Cooper, whose nine-month-old daughter Heidi died from sepsis last year, said the monitors would help save babies's lives.
Charlotte, from Airdrie, wants to see the monitors installed in every paediatric ward in Scotland.
She said: "We need to do whatever we can to stop preventable deaths from sepsis in Scotland."
Sepsis Research (FEAT), the only UK charity dedicated to raising money for sepsis research, and Spifox combined to donate six monitors to the hospital to help early detection of sepsis in vulnerable young children.
Funding for the monitors, which can detect the deadly blood condition, was channelled to the hospital via Sepsis Research (FEAT) after it was donated to them by Spifox, the Scottish property industry's charity which raises money to help children and young people.
The monitors support measurements of the Paediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS), which record and track an infant or child's clinical status with regard to changes in heart rate, temperature and blood pressure.
The early appreciation of changes will allow faster detection, response and treatment.contributing to improved, effective sepsis diagnosis and management.
READ MORE: Glasgow weekend weather warning as severe winds set to bring travel chaos
The monitors will be used in two acute wards to constantly monitor children for any signs of deterioration in their condition.
Charlotte had heard of sepsis but did not know the signs or symptoms.
She added: "One minute you are told your baby is very sick and the next minute she has gone.
"It's so fast.
"The aftermath is one of disbelief, shock and struggling to understand how something like this can happen."
The monitors were accepted on behalf of the hospital by Senior Staff Nurse Sharon Pate.
Sharon said: "In a very busy paediatric ward it is vital all our patients are monitored regularly and closely for signs of deterioration.
"The addition of these new monitors will greatly improve our ability to monitor patients and provide vital care.
Colin Graham, chief operating officer for Sepsis Research, said: We're delighted to have collaborated with Spifox to deliver this equipment to the children's hospital.
"Sepsis is a very dangerous illness which can attack anyone from the tiniest babies to older adults.
"We hope these monitors will help hospital staff as they care for the young patients."
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here