Dr. Colm Henry:

I will involve my colleagues in this but before I pass over to them I will give the Cathaoirleach an initial response. Early recognition and treatment are critical and healthcare professionals such as GPs see a great number of people with infectious illness that is not sepsis. It is critically important to identify the relatively small number of people who have sepsis and to implement the sepsis 6 bundle, which has been shown to improve outcomes. The critical measure is to increase awareness among healthcare professionals, including in the community, where 70% of cases arise, or in hospitals. Public awareness campaigns are not mutually exclusive to that; it is about working hand in hand with the direction and benefits that we have demonstrated since the establishment of the sepsis programme or through raising awareness among healthcare professionals for the early recognition and treatment of sepsis, rather than leaving people undiagnosed and untreated. I will ask Dr. Healy to come in on this briefly as well.