A national charity that was born in Sutton Coldfield has celebrated its tenth birthday – and launched a new campaign that aims to save thousands of lives.

The UK Sepsis Trust was founded by Good Hope medic Ron Daniels BEM in 2012, and has since gone on to significantly raise awareness of Sepsis, which results in 48,000 UK deaths each year – more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.

Dr Daniels (pictured) welcomed supporters and colleagues to celebrate the charity’s milestone at the town centre offices of WAA Chosen – and announce their new Power of 10 campaign.

He said: “It was fantastic to welcome so many of our supporters to help celebrate the trust’s birthday, and share some of the successes we have achieved in our first ten years.

“As a relatively small charity on a huge mission, our partners play a vital role in disseminating our potentially life-saving information, whether that’s through our Sepsis Savvy scheme, supporting medical professionals or the free educational resources we provide to schools.

“The Power of 10 campaign aims to mark our first decade by reaching out to even more people to let them know about how to spot the signs of Sepsis and save lives.”

Sepsis is the body’s life-threatening overreaction to an infection, including Covid-19. Without timely treatment, it can rapidly lead to organ failure and death.

Mike Wood, Member of Parliament for Dudley South, who almost died after developing Sepsis in 2017, also spoke at the event.

He was given only a 10 per cent chance of survival when he was rushed into Russells Hall Hospital.

It was at first thought that he was suffering from meningitis, but he was quickly diagnosed with sepsis and placed in a medically induced coma.

His blood pressure collapsed and the sepsis triggered pneumonia, kidney failure and a suspected aborted heart attack.

Sutton man Brian Davies, the Trust’s corporate fundraising manager, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who attended our 10th anniversary celebration, with sincere thanks again to everyone an Irwin Mitchell for sponsoring the event.”