Family of Embsay woman presses Parliament on ‘silent killer’ (From Craven Herald)
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Family of Embsay woman presses Parliament on ‘silent killer’
8:00am Monday 8th October 2012 in News
Pictured on the banks of the Thames, from left, are sepsis survivor Stevie-Louise McGuinness, Rhian Oliver, David Lovell and Julian Smith MP
The husband and daughter of an Embsay grandmother who died of sepsis - blood poisoning - have addressed The Royal College of Physicians and MPs at the House of Commons in a bid to get them to support a campaign to raise awareness of the “silent killer”.
The meeting, held the day before World Sepsis Day, was also attended by Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith.
Rhian Oliver, a mother of three, and her father David Lovell and family members are backing a campaign by UK Sepsis Trust to get the condition recognised as a medical emergency.
Rhian’s mum Hilary, died aged 64 on Christmas Day 2010, after a kidney infection turned to sepsis. She had been very ill for several days but the seriousness of her condition was not recognised by doctors.
The mother of four who had eight grandchildren, died just six days after becoming ill.
Her condition went undetected and untreated during two consultations with her GPs.
Rhian said: “The meeting was to encourage physicians to raise awareness of the condition and the need to act quickly on diagnosis.
“Every hour sepsis is undiagnosed, the survival rate drops eight per cent. Speed is the key.”
