Sepsis Awareness

Aim of the Course

This course aims to help frontline health and social care workers:

1. Understand what sepsis is and why it is a medical emergency
2. Recognise possible infection and deterioration
3. Identify warning signs that require urgent escalation
4. Take immediate, role-appropriate action
5. Communicate concerns clearly to senior staff and healthcare professionals
6. Support infection prevention and early intervention

Scope of the Course

This course is suitable for healthcare assistants, care assistants, support workers, senior carers and similar staff supporting adults in care homes, supported living, domiciliary care and community services in England.

It provides awareness and role-appropriate knowledge. It does not qualify learners to diagnose sepsis, independently interpret clinical findings, prescribe treatment or complete observations without appropriate training, competency assessment and workplace authorisation.

Learners must follow the person’s care plan, workplace deterioration and emergency procedures, and instructions from appropriately qualified healthcare professionals.

What This Course Covers

The course covers:

1. The meaning of infection, sepsis and septic shock
2. How infection may lead to organ dysfunction
3. Common sources of infection
4. People who may have an increased risk
5. Establishing the person’s normal baseline
6. Soft signs and physiological warning signs
7. Atypical presentations in older and vulnerable adults
8. NEWS2 and workplace-approved deterioration tools
9. Immediate actions and emergency escalation
10. Structured communication using SBAR or SBARD
11. Infection prevention and antimicrobial awareness
12. Documentation, monitoring, handover and learning

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners should be able to:

1. Define sepsis accurately.
2. Explain why sepsis is a medical emergency.
3. Distinguish infection, sepsis and septic shock at an awareness level.
4. Identify common sources of infection.
5. Recognise people who may have an increased risk of sepsis.
6. Explain why knowing the person’s normal condition is important.
7. Identify soft signs that may indicate deterioration.
8. Recognise physiological warning signs requiring escalation.
9. Explain why sepsis may present differently in older or vulnerable adults.
10. Describe the purpose and limitations of NEWS2 and other approved tools.
11. Explain why a normal temperature or low NEWS2 score cannot independently exclude sepsis.
12. Take appropriate immediate action within their role.
13. Communicate concerns clearly using SBAR or SBARD.
14. Escalate again when deterioration continues or the response is inadequate.
15. Apply appropriate infection-prevention measures.
16. Record observations, communication and actions accurately.
17. Apply sepsis-awareness principles to realistic care situations.

Further Reading and References

1. Legislation: Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires providers to assess risks and deliver care safely. Read Regulation 12
2. Current clinical guidance: NICE Guideline NG253 — Suspected sepsis in people aged 16 or over, published in November 2025, covers recognition, risk evaluation and early management. Read NICE NG253
3. Deterioration framework: NHS England’s PIER approach addresses the prevention, identification, escalation and response to acute physical deterioration across health and care settings. Read the NHS England PIER framework
4. Adult social care guidance: The Department of Health and Social Care provides infection-prevention principles for adult social care services in England. Read the adult social care IPC resource

Important practice point: Sepsis cannot be confirmed or excluded by one symptom, one observation or one scoring tool. If a person appears seriously unwell or continues to deteriorate, staff must escalate urgently according to workplace emergency procedures.