Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Karen Howell writes for the Globe ...

THIS week I would like to raise awareness about an illness that kills five people every hour in the UK.

It affects 25,000 of our children every year.

A quarter of survivors suffer permanent, life changing effects. Sepsis.

Sepsis - also known as blood poisoning - is the immune system’s overreaction to an infection or injury.

Normally our immune system fights infection, but sometimes, for reasons we don't yet understand, it attacks our body’s own organs and tissues.

If it's not treated immediately, sepsis can result in organ failure and death.

Yet with early diagnosis, it can be treated with antibiotics.

Here at Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust we have a big sepsis training programme, so that our health and care staff are always on the lookout for signs and symptoms of sepsis.

We've developed a special scoring system that enables them to recognise if someone’s health could be deteriorating because of sepsis.

So far this year, our staff have already reported 229 suspected cases of sepsis.

With Sepsis being at the forefront of our minds, we are ensuring we spot the signs and symptoms early, so that people get the treatment they need to make the best possible recovery.

Next week we're running a campaign to raise awareness of this potentially life-threatening condition.

In the run-up to World Sepsis Day on Friday, September 13, we’ll have a big information stand at St Catherine's Health Centre, with staff on hand to give advice about some of the signs and symptoms of sepsis and highlight its potential risks.

Sepsis can initially look like flu, gastroenteritis or a chest infection.

There is no one sign, and symptoms are different in adults and children.

In adults it can cause slurred speech, shivering, severe breathlessness, discoloured skin.

Some people say they feel like they are going to die.

In children, symptoms can include very fast breathing, fits or convulsions, skin looking mottled, bluish or pale.

They might have a rash that doesn’t fade when you press it, be very lethargic or very cold to touch.

Young children under five often don't feed, can be repeatedly sick and might not wee for more than 12 hours.

It's so important that you know what signs to look for too. Sepsis is serious.

For more information visit www.sepsistrust.org