Caremark (Thanet), a local home care provider based in Margate, is holding a sepsis awareness conference on Thursday, November 14, following the tragic death of one of its employees’ young children, 11-month old Ellie Lunn.
In 2015 Ellie, the daughter of Caremark (Thanet)’s operations and compliance manager Kerry Hill, sadly contracted sepsis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body responds to an infection by attacking its own tissues and organs.
Kerry, who lives in Ramsgate, initially grew worried about Ellie when she began refusing food and started vomiting. After being referred to A&E by her GP Kerry explained to doctors that Ellie had not wet her nappy for 12 hours and had developed a rash on her stomach.
Ellie was given Dioralyte and Calpol, which masked the symptoms, and was later discharged with a diagnosis of viral tonsillitis. Sadly, Ellie passed away the following morning.
Four years later, Kerry feels ready to share her story and wants to raise awareness of sepsis, which is estimated to kill more people in the UK than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined.
She said: “Losing Ellie was simply heart-breaking and if her symptoms had been recognised earlier there’s a chance that things could have been different.
“According to the UK Sepsis Trust, five people are killed by sepsis every hour in the UK, making it one of the country’s biggest killers, and many people are still unsure of the signs and symptoms to look out for. By sharing my story, I hope to prevent other families having to go through the same thing.
“Sepsis can affect anyone at any age, so the event is open to the general public as a whole and we are urging local schools, doctors and nurseries, in particular, to attend.”
Caremark (Thanet)’s awareness event will be held at Global Generation Church at Westwood Industrial Estate between 10am and 1pm. It will involve talks from members of the NHS Critical Care Outreach team from the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, who assess deteriorating patients on wards.
The event will also be attended by a paramedic, who will explain the symptoms of sepsis and when to seek medical advice as well as Barbara Hall, a sepsis survivor, who will speak about her experience of suffering from the condition as an adult.
For further information please visit https://www.caremark.co.uk/locations/thanet.