THE Launceston Community Market chose to support Cornwall Sepsis Trust Support Group this month with a financial donation.

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when someone’s immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage a body’s own tissues and organs. 

A spokesperson explained: “You cannot catch sepsis from another person but sepsis is life threatening and it can be hard to identify. Common signs of sepsis include fever, fast heart rate, rapid breathing, confusion and body pain. It can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death. Sepsis is usually caused by bacterial infections but may be the result of other infections such as viruses, parasites or fungi.

“The goal of the UK Sepsis Trust is to end preventable deaths from sepsis and improve outcomes for sepsis survivors. They believe that earlier diagnosis and treatment across the UK would save several thousand lives a year. 

“For the next steps in the critical mission, they need to work with others on large-scale research programmes, in order to further develop the understanding of sepsis, severe infection and use of antimicrobials and examine the effectiveness of systems change and clinical practice.

“They work to raise awareness of sepsis among the public and health care professionals,  encourage early diagnosis, lobby politicians to improve standards of care, and provide better support for sepsis survivors.”

The Cornwall Sepsis Trust Support Group is the only group in the South West and through regular meetings and fundraising events tries to locally achieve the aims of the UK Trust and Launceston Community Market is delighted to help with a donation.  Victor (in the photo) and Nancy Briggs (who has suffered with Sepsis twice) are leading members of the Cornwall Group and regular stallholders at the market and can provide further information. 

The market is open every Friday morning at Methodist Central offering a wide range of local crafts and produce.