Your child has been reviewed by the doctors on the Children’s Unit and they are reassured that he/she are fit for discharge.
The nursing team will discuss all discharge information with you and provide verbal advice as well as sharing any advice from the doctors for your discharge, however this is some further information you may wish to read regarding your child’s admission.
What is sepsis?
Sepsis is the body’s immune response over-reacting to an infection. It can be life threatening but treating the condition early can help prevent sepsis becoming more serious. There is not one clear cause of sepsis as it can be caused by a bacteria, virus or much less commonly, fungi.
Sepsis can occur following infections such as:
- Pneumonia
- Urinary tract infection
- Meningitis
- Abdominal infection
- Skin infection
- Bone or joint infection
What treatment may your child have had?
If your child has been clinically treated as sepsis or suspected sepsis within the hospital, they may have had many investigations completed to identify the source of the infection, these investigations may include:
- Blood samples
- Urine sample
- Throat, nose or skin swabs.
- Stool sample
- X-ray
- Clinical observations being regularly taken
Based on the assessment and test results, your child may have been started on some treatment to help them feel better and this treatment may have included:
- Antibiotics (either oral antibiotics or antibiotics given into a vein)
- Fluid treatment
- Oxygen therapy
What are the signs and symptoms of sepsis?
The symptoms of sepsis can be difficult to identify as there is not one single key feature to look out for to diagnose sepsis. Sepsis may be present when one or more symptoms present and therefore a number of factors need to be taken into consideration including:
- A change in their behaviour/being lethargic/tired or floppy/ not being their usual self/ irritable/continuous cry
- Increased heart rate
- Change in their breathing- breathing fast, noisy breathing, more effort to breathe
- Temperature too high or too low
- A rash that will not go away when pressed on
- Change to skin colour/lips or tongue – mottling or any other change to usual colouring of skin
- Not passing as much urine/reduced wet nappies.
If your child is experiencing these symptoms or you are worried please seek medical advice. For further information on signs and symptoms please visit: https://sybhealthiertogether.nhs.uk/
Further treatments and follow up appointments
Your child may be given some medication to take home to continue their treatment.
If you receive medications to take home then a nurse will discuss any specific instructions with you; your medication will be labelled and have written instructions printed on it.
Open Access: You will be discharged with an open access form which the nurses will explain to you.
It means that if your child’s current condition gets worse or you have further concerns relating to this current illness you should contact either the Children’s Observation Unit (CHOU) at Doncaster or the Children’s Assessment Unit (CAU) at Bassetlaw. If your child shows signs and symptoms which they presented with for example high temperature, you should seek medical advice using this access form.
Not all children require a follow up appointment when they are discharged from the hospital, however the medical team caring for your child may decide that they do require a follow up appointment. This appointment may be with your child’s GP, on the Children’s Observations Unit or in Children’s Outpatients. If a follow up appointment is required and this is on the Children’s Observation Unit, an appointment will be given to you.
If your follow up appointment is in Children’s outpatients an appointment will be made for you and a letter with this appointment will be sent to you in the post (if you do not receive a letter within a couple of weeks of your child’s discharge, please contact our bookings team via our hospital switchboard on: 01302 366666).
If it is suggested that your child requires a follow up with their GP, please contact your GP to arrange this yourself, the GP will be sent a letter explaining your child’s admission to hospital and will make plans for your child’s future care.
Further information and support
Please visit the Healthier Together website for high quality information on sepsis which is available in different languages.
The UK Sepsis Trust offers support to individuals and families who have been affected by sepsis, if you feel that you need support you can call their specialist support team on 0808 800 0029.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
The PALS team are available to help with any concerns/complaints you may have about your experience at the Trust. Their office is in the Main Foyer (Gate 4) of Doncaster Royal Infirmary. Contact can be made either in person, by telephone or email.
Telephone: 01302 642764 or 0800 028 8059
Email: dbth.pals.dbh@nhs.net
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