Maria Middelares calls attention to NEWS2 and the national sepsis action plan

Recently, Maria Middelares has started using NEWS2, a scientifically validated version of the Early Warning Score (EWS), which enables close monitoring of a patient’s condition. The EWS system uses various parameters, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, blood pressure and level of consciousness, to calculate a score. If the patient's score deteriorates, rapid action can be taken, for example by the Rapid Response Team (RRT), which has been operating at Maria Middelares for more than 10 years. This RRT is comprised of people trained in the diagnosis and treatment of critically ill people and is an essential component of modern resuscitation policy in hospitals.

Maria Middelares has been using EWS for many years and has managed to reduce the number of resuscitations in the various departments and the number of unexpected deaths hospital wide. EWS aligns with the most current healthcare insights, prioritising a preventive care approach. To take this system to the next level of care, there is an urgent need to adapt the funding model, where the quality of the comprehensive care must be priority one.

First-hand account by Ilse Malfait on her experience of sepsis

While innovation and automation help nurses measure the EWS score, it still requires a lot of daily follow-up. To concretely illustrate why this time commitment is necessary, Maria Middelares organised a mini-symposium in April with guest speaker and experience expert Ilse Malfait. More than 100 healthcare professionals came to hear her gripping story. Ilse recounted her experiences as a survivor of sepsis (better known as 'blood poisoning'), which kills nearly 8,000 people a year in Belgium. Ilse herself was hospitalised for almost 500 days, eventually losing her lower legs and her fingers. Through her book 'Every hour counts' and with the activities of her non-profit organisation Sepsibel, Ilse advocates for close monitoring of the EWS score. Late last year, Minister Vandenbroucke commissioned an expert report, led by Erika Vlieghe, which could form the basis of a national sepsis plan.