New Office for National Statistics analysis tracks the labour market outcomes of working-age sepsis survivors in England across a five-year follow-up period, compared with their earnings and employment in the year or two before they were admitted to hospital.
The Office for National Statistics published the analysis on 29 July 2026, covering a cohort of working-age survivors aged 25 to 60 in England. The release — titled “The impact of hospitalisation for sepsis on employee earnings and employment status, England: April 2014 to December 2024” — compares what happened to people’s pay and jobs in the five years after a sepsis admission against the 12 to 24 months before they were hospitalised.
Sepsis already carries a heavy toll in England. The figures show 4,372 deaths were registered in 2024 where the underlying cause was classified under the two main sepsis-related codes, A40 and A41 combined. Those who survive can face a long road back — and this analysis focuses squarely on what that road looks like in employment terms.
ONS has previously published similar linked-data analyses for long COVID and long-term sickness, and the pattern across those studies points in a consistent direction: serious ill health tends to reduce earnings and pull people out of the workforce for extended periods. The new release confirms that sepsis follows that same trajectory, with survivors experiencing a sustained decrease in earnings averaging £198 per month in the first six months after hospitalisation, amounting to a total loss of £8,124 over five years. Survivors are also 2.5 percentage points less likely to be in employment five years after their hospitalisation than they were before it.
For Kent residents who survived sepsis while in work, the findings are directly relevant. Return-to-work timing, lost income, and potential need for occupational health support or benefits could all be affected — even if the analysis doesn’t break results down by county.
Kent employers, NHS services, and jobcentre staff may want to consider the five-year timeframe the ONS used. Recovery from sepsis, the data suggests, isn’t always measured in weeks.
Source: @ONS