Sepsis awareness campaign welcomed by bereaved mother Melissa Mead

A mother from Cornwall whose 12-month-old son died from sepsis has welcomed a Government-backed campaign to raise awareness of the potentially deadly condition.

Melissa Mead lost her son William when a string of NHS failures in 2014 led to his case of sepsis not being properly recognised.

Now she says Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has agreed to help lead a drive aimed at encouraging people to consider whether they or someone in their care might be suffering from sepsis whenever they are ill.

The decision came after Mr Hunt met members of the UK Sepsis Trust, including Mrs Mead, at the Department of Health earlier today.

Leaflets, posters and a 90-second social media video campaign aimed at both doctors and the public will appear at A&Es, walk-in centres and doctor's surgeries on World Sepsis Day on September 13.

Speaking after the meeting Mrs Mead said she was "relieved and delighted". She added:

A report into the death of William in December 2014 criticised GPs, out-of-hours services and a 111 call handler who failed to spot he had sepsis caused by an underlying chest infection and pneumonia.

In January, Mr Hunt apologised in the House of Commons on behalf of the NHS and the Government for William's death.

The campaign comes after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) updated its guidelines so that sepsis is treated by doctors and nurses as an emergency on the same level as heart attacks.

Speaking to ITV Westcountry earlier Melissa said her campaign to bring sepsis to the forefront was driven by love and passion for her son.

The Think Sepsis and Ask Sepsis campaign will be aimed at recognising warning signs in both adults and children and the Department of Health has agreed to run it independently of a similar campaign to raise awareness of meningitis.

Sepsis, also known as septicaemia or blood poisoning, is a life-threateningcondition that occurs when the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight an infection.

There are about 150,000 cases of sepsis in the UK each year, 44,000 of which are fatal, according to the UK Sepsis Trust.

Early symptoms of sepsis include fast breathing or a fast heartbeat, high or low temperature, chills and shivering. However, sufferers may or may not have a fever.

Severe symptoms can develop soon after and include blood pressure falling low, dizziness, disorientation, slurred speech, mottled skin, nausea and vomiting.

Without prompt treatment with antibiotics, sepsis can lead to multiple organfailure and death.