The parents of 15-year-old Seán Hughes, who died of sepsis, have urged people to be vigilant if they are not recovering from an infection.
Joe Hughes and Karen Phoenix were among those who attended the Oireachtas Health Committee at Leinster House today, where campaigners said more needs to be done to prevent unnecessary deaths.
Each year, around 3,000 people with sepsis die in hospitals around the country, which is more than heart attacks, strokes or almost any cancer.
Joe Hughes told RTÉ News that before the incident, Seán had "no underlying medical issues".
He said he was "a young, fit, healthy man, the prime of his life".
The young rapper from Finglas in Dublin, known as Lil Red, was recovering from a chest infection when he collapsed in his home.
He died at Temple Street Hospital in January 2018.
Karen Phoenix said on the Wednesday morning, she called him for school, but he felt "rotten". She said she called the GP and got an appointment for that morning.
"I was told he had a chest infection, an influenza, and a high fever."
On Thursday, she said his condition began to worsen. "And then by Thursday evening, I was sitting with Seán watching TV and Seán stopped breathing."
She said Joe administered CPR as she called the paramedics.
"By Friday morning, half-six, Seán was in Temple Street, and he was gone. He was dead. They switched off the life-support."
"Seán was a little Gentleman, everyone loved him," she said.
Mr Hughes said their world stopped that day and the life would "never be the same again".
Ms Phoenix said: "Just to be vigilant if you have an infection of any sort and you are not getting better and you display maybe two or three signs of sepsis, present yourself to A&E and ask the question, could it be sepsis?"
Mandatory sepsis protocols
There are increasing calls for all hospitals in Ireland to introduce mandatory sepsis protocols.
Chairperson of the Irish Sepsis Foundation Doireann O'Mahony has said the Health Service Executive must listen to survivors and people who have been bereaved due to sepsis.
Ms O'Mahony told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that the more people that know about sepsis, the safer everyone will be and called on the HSE to pay attention to condition and do better and to have proper risk strategies in hospitals.
The HSE told the committee that it is increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms, prevention and appropriate management of sepsis.
HSE Chief Medical Officer Dr Colm Henry said the 2021 National Sepsis Report published this year showed a 23% reduction in age-adjusted mortality from sepsis/sepsis shock since 2011.
He said that accurate reporting of sepsis epidemiology has been complicated since 2020 with the emergence of Covid-19.
He said this year, a new sepsis information leaflet was developed to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis in the community for adults, maternity services and children.
Symptoms of sepsis in adults include slurred speech or confusion, extreme shivering or muscle pain, passing no urine (in a day), severe breathlessness and a feeling like you are going to die.
In children, it can present as breathing very fast, fits or convulsions, mottle, bluish or pale skin and a rash that does not fade when pressed, lethargy and feeling abnormally cold to the touch.
Dr Henry told the committee that regular education sessions on the signs and symptoms of sepsis are conducted across all hospitals and all emergency ambulances carry signage on the signs and symptoms.
He added that all hospitals have information stands and education is provided for staff.
Dr Henry said that the HSE and the National Sepsis Team are currently scoping out the optimum approach to a public awareness campaign.
'Rory's Regulations'
Among those appearing before the committee was Ciaran Staunton, whose 12-year-old son Rory died from sepsis in New York in 2012.
Mr Staunton and his family later successfully campaigned for 'Rory's Regulations' on mandatory protocols to be introduced in New York state, saving an estimated 20,000 lives.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland Orla Staunton, Rory’s mother, explained how he got sepsis after he cut his elbow while playing basketball.
She said that she had never heard of sepsis until that point but deaths from the infection are preventable if treated properly and rapidly.
Mr Staunton said that every hospital should have a standard sepsis treatment protocol, just as they do for heart attacks and other illnesses.
He said he was invited before the committee because there has never been a hearing on sepsis in the Oireachtas.
"We're showing what we have done" he said, and has met other campaigning families Ireland to raise the issue.
"People are dying and what I always say is a sepsis death is a preventable death," Mr Staunton said.
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