Pfizer is committed to empowering patients. Our purpose is to bring breakthroughs that change patients' lives. We are pleased to have worked with the UK Sepsis Trust for several years, supporting them to help people understand more about the effects of sepsis and to raise general awareness of this life-threatening condition through the influential campaign "Just ask – could it be Sepsis?". We are proud to say our collaboration also achieved the honour of being awarded gold standard by the Patient Partnership Index 2020.

To support this campaign, we worked alongside the charity to develop this short film, which helped support their valuable work in driving greater public understanding of sepsis and its all too often devastating effects on patients and their loved ones.

The film details the personal experience of sepsis survivor Dave Carson and his wife Margaret, and how they were supported by the UK Sepsis Trust.

Talking about his recovery, Dave said: "The UK Sepsis Trust have been great. They started support groups, and my wife Margaret and I have started giving talks around the country. This has brought back a lot of meaning and purpose into our lives."

The film also includes comments from Sarah Hamilton-Fairley, Strategy and Development Director at the UK Sepsis Trust, who highlights that over 245,000 people every year are affected by Sepsis with at least 48,000 people losing their lives to sepsis-related illness.

She notes, "That's more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer put together," adding, "My dream is that Sepsis becomes as well-known as meningitis. People know what to do when they suspect meningitis, but they do not know what to do or don't even think sepsis at the moment. That's why we use the strapline "Just ask – could it be Sepsis?"

Through our work with the UK Sepsis Trust, we saw how bringing to life personal stories and experiences of sepsis survivors engaged a wider audience, encouraging many people affected by the condition to seek help. This allowed people to draw on shared personal experiences to provide knowledge, social interaction, emotional assistance and practical help to each other, in a way that is mutually beneficial.

We look forward to maintaining our relationship with UK Sepsis Trust in the future and continuing our work together to help people with sepsis know there is help available for them via the Trust’s ever increasing of support groups across the UK.