NHS launches wearable sepsis monitors to cut annual deaths

The National Health Service will trial wearable devices—including mobile phone apps, smart watches and bracelets—to monitor vital signs of patients after hospital discharge and flag early signs of sepsis. Officials say the programme aims to prevent up to 1,000 deaths a year, noting that each hour of delayed treatment raises the risk of death by as much as 8%.

Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, NHS England’s Deputy Medical Director, said catching sepsis early is vital to improving survival and recovery. Minister for patient safety Preet Gill added that families’ experiences have driven a fundamental shift in patient‑safety thinking. The UK Sepsis Trust estimates sepsis contributes to about 48,000 deaths in the UK annually, with 4,000 directly in England, and believes a quarter of these could be avoided with better monitoring.

The initiative forms part of the NHS’s new ‘Modern Service Framework’ for sepsis, building on pilots already in place at some hospitals where cancer patients receiving CAR‑T therapy wear chest‑mounted sensors that track heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature.