Ms Doireann O'Mahony:

I thank Deputy Cullinane. We believe there should be a national sepsis strategy focused on prevention, detection and treatment. I got a taxi across town to be here. I told the taxi driver what I was coming to and asked him if he knew about sepsis. He said he had heard of it and that "It's deadly, isn't it?" and "It's pretty lethal". I then asked him if he was aware of the signs and symptoms of sepsis, and he said, "No". This is what we as a charity have consistently observed. I refer to families burying loved ones, just like this, and saying they had never even heard of sepsis until the post-mortem report came back or the doctors mentioned the word "sepsis".

The reality is that sepsis kills as many people in this country as heart attacks, strokes and some of the most common cancers. Yet very few people understand what sepsis is. We need to change this. We need to focus on, at the fundamental level, ensuring there is public awareness of the signs and symptoms.

As has been mentioned by Deputy Burke, time is of the essence. My understanding is that for every hour treatment is delayed, there is an 8% increase in the likelihood that the patient will die. That is why it is so vitally important we do that. I think the Irish Sepsis Foundation members would support me in my call upon the Government and the HSE to develop a national sepsis strategy, to show tangible evidence that they are committed to preventing avoidable deaths from sepsis.