Safety netting discharge leaflets for adults and children (WHC/2025/051)
This Welsh Health Circular gives instructions to health boards about adopting and integrating the new safety netting leaflets for adults and children with suspected or confirmed infection into the discharge process.
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Details
Status:
Action.
Category:
Quality and Safety
Title:
Safety netting discharge leaflets for adults and children.
Action by:
- Health Board Medical Directors
- Executive Directors of Nursing
- Heads of Emergency Departments
- Clinical Directors
- Sepsis leads
Required by:
Immediately.
Sender:
Professor Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer
Sue Tranka, Chief Nursing Officer
Welsh Government Contacts:
Teresa Bridge, Quality and Safety, Quality and Nursing Directorate. QualityAndNursing@gov.wales
Enclosures:
Safety netting leaflets for the discharge of adults and children with a suspected or confirmed infection.
National Safety netting leaflets for adults and children
Aneurin Bevan UHB, in collaboration with the UK Sepsis Trust, has developed safety netting leaflets to support the discharge of adults and children with a suspected or confirmed infection. Examples with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board branding are provided at Annex 1.
Following engagement with families affected by sepsis, Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary Health and Social Services, has approved the adoption of these materials as a national resource across NHS Wales.
The NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) has facilitated their implementation and secured endorsement from the All-Wales Medical Directors and Executive Directors of Nursing Groups.
Local adaptation
Health boards are expected to locally adapt the leaflets to include appropriate branding, relevant contact details and links to local resources. Please also ensure the inclusion of a QR code linking to the UKST's new sepsis screening tool.
If your health board is already using a UK Sepsis Trust leaflet at discharge, please review it to ensure alignment.
The leaflet referenced in Spotting sepsis in children, awareness leaflet (WHC/2024/045) provides guidance for primary care teams to support parents and carers in recognising signs and symptoms of sepsis after consultation. The introduction of the new safety netting leaflets will complement these resources, ensuring continuity of care and consistent messaging across both primary care and secondary care settings.
Action required
All health boards in Wales are asked to formally adopt and integrate the new safety netting leaflets into the discharge process for appropriate patients.
- Embed leaflets into discharge workflows for Emergency Departments, Acute Medical Units, Paediatric Units and in other appropriate settings.
- Provide digital access via SMS or QR codes, with printed versions for high-risk or digitally excluded patients.
- Ensure bilingual and locally branded formats, with hospital-specific contact details.
- Review content annually in line with UKST and NICE updates.
- Align messaging across care settings, including GP practices, to ensure consistency and clarity.
- Display QR codes to the UKST sepsis screening tool in waiting rooms and clinical areas.
Monitoring and support
NWSSP will support Health Boards in adapting the leaflets and integrating them into local systems. Feedback from staff and patients will be used to monitor effectiveness and inform future improvements.
The introduction of these safety netting leaflets will help provide a consistent, All-Wales approach to improving patient understanding of deterioration signs, reducing avoidable harm, and supporting national efforts to improve sepsis outcomes.