Traffi and Sepsis Research have joined forces to launch a new health and safety training partnership aimed at equipping construction workers with the knowledge to recognize the early signs of sepsis. This medical emergency claims an estimated 50,000 lives in the UK every year, surpassing the combined deaths from breast, bowel, and prostate cancer. The initiative was launched on September 13th, which marked World Sepsis Day, a global awareness day that has been observed annually since 2012 to unite people in the fight against sepsis.
The partnership was inspired by Brian Hume, Health and Safety Manager at Balfour Beatty Scotland, who survived a serious episode of sepsis earlier this year. Hume, who has worked in health and safety on civil engineering sites for decades, is sharing his story with his own workforce. He has brought together Traffi, the UK’s hand protection and safety glove specialist, and Sepsis Research, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to funding research and raising public awareness of the condition.
Hume’s personal experience with sepsis, which resulted from a gallbladder infection and led to three hospital admissions and intensive care, has motivated him to introduce sepsis awareness training into existing site safety training. The goal is to ensure that workers are alert and able to recognize when a wound, no matter how minor, needs urgent attention. This training is crucial given the fact that a seemingly minor cut, graze, or puncture on a construction site can quickly develop into a serious infection.
Stephen Moore, CEO of Sepsis Research, emphasized the importance of preventing infections before they become life-threatening emergencies and the economic and workforce implications of sepsis. With workplace absence in the UK currently at a 15-year high, the need for prevention and early diagnosis of sepsis is more pressing than ever. Moore also noted the significance of partnerships like this one, which tackle the first and most powerful step in addressing sepsis – prevention.
The joint training program developed by Sepsis Research and Traffi will be rolled out to construction site teams in Scotland this September and will be made available to Traffi’s wider customer base in the coming months. It incorporates sepsis recognition into existing hand safety and injury-prevention training, using Traffi’s red-amber-green coding system to help workers identify signs of sepsis in the event of an injury or illness.
Wesley Dempster, Aftersales Team Lead at Traffi, expressed the company’s commitment to prevention, which aligns with their mission to reduce hand injuries and related costs, waste, and carbon emissions across industries. The new training program is a natural extension of their work and will help workers prevent, recognize, and respond to sepsis risks before they become medical emergencies.
The launch of this partnership coincides with the growing national momentum on sepsis, including the development of a Modern Service Framework for Sepsis by NHS England and innovative new studies aligned with the charity’s Top Ten Sepsis Research Priorities.
As part of the launch, Brian Hume has recorded a video sharing his story, which will be played during on-site training sessions and shared on the partners’ social media channels throughout Sepsis Awareness Month and beyond.
It is crucial for anyone with a wound, infection, or illness to pay attention to the common symptoms of sepsis, including a high or low body temperature, vomiting and diarrhea, uncontrollable shivering, confusion or disorientation, decreased urine output, extreme pain or discomfort, blotchy skin, difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, dizziness or fainting, and a sense of impending death. If any of these symptoms are present, it is important to seek medical help immediately and mention the concern for sepsis.
