A group founded to support sepsis sufferers and their families has called for life-saving equipment for the South West region.

The South East Cornwall Sepsis Support group will hold its next meeting this evening from 6.30pm at Stuart House in Liskeard.

The group was started by Victor and Nancy Briggs after Nancy was hospitalised twice with the condition.

There are around 15-20 regular attendees and the group always welcomes new members.

Sepsis kills around 44,000 people in the UK each year, says Victor, who is working hard to raise awareness of symptoms amongst the medical profession and the general public.

The group is also lobbying for a new piece of equipment - an ECMO machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) - to be installed in one of the region’s hospitals.

‘This remarkable machine is a life-saver to those most at risk as a hospital in-patient,’ said Victor.

‘It has proved itself to be the last line defence from the condition if all other treatments are unsuccessful. But the system requires a dedicated team to operate it at a considerable daily cost.’