A Good Hope Hospital critical care consultant who has dedicated his career to improving outcomes for patients with sepsis said he is ‘proud and humbled’ after being awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Honours.
Dr Ron Daniels was nominated by Dr Tim Nutbeam, a consultant in Emergency Medicine at Derriford Hospital, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists in recognition of his ‘tireless’ and ‘passionate’ efforts to improve sepsis care.
The 44-year-old has worked at Good Hope Hospital, part of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, since he qualified in 1995. He is also Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust and Global Sepsis Alliance.
Dr Daniels has been pivotal in changing the way treatment of blood poisoning is managed by health care professionals after developing the Sepsis Six pathway. The pathway provides guidance on how to recognise and treat sepsis and is used by professionals from a wide variety of healthcare roles including in GP surgeries, emergency departments, ambulances, and on hospital wards.
Since the introduction of Sepsis Six, survival rates for patients with sepsis have increased from 60% to 70% in England and it is now used in nine countries, including some states in the USA, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malawi.
Dr Daniels lives in Knowle with his wife Lucy and four children, ranging in age from one to eighteen, and he said: “I am very proud and humbled to receive this honour. Sepsis Six started as a small idea that snowballed into a national pathway and it’s saving thousands of lives every year. Improving outcomes for patients with sepsis is a passion of mine and thanks to the support of my colleagues, who worked with me to develop the pathway, sepsis is now recognised as a national priority.
“It’s been a fascinating journey and our approach to sepsis is a holistic one – we’re helping to raise awareness, not only amongst the healthcare professionals who see and treat patients, but patients themselves so that they can recognise the signs and seek help quickly.”
