A woman who went to a pharmacist in Wales to get her throat infection treated has said he saved her life after he warned her about the signs of sepsis and urged her to get urgent medical help if symptoms worsen.

The patient, known as Florrie who was visiting Monmouthshire for a wedding, went to Shackleton’s Pharmacy in Abergavenny where she had a consultation with pharmacist Kyle Price, who assessed her before prescribing antibiotics.

According to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB), he also gave Florrie a leaflet and symptom card with information about the signs of sepsis. Price had accessed the materials from the Health Board’s sepsis awareness campaign.

The next day, Florrie’s condition quickly deteriorated and she contacted the emergency services, telling them she might have sepsis which was diagnosed in hospital and successfully treated.

ABUHB, whose sepsis awareness campaign provides printed and digital materials to health professionals to improve public awarenewss of the condition, said doctors confirmed Florrie’s “outcome could have been much more serious” if she had waited longer to get help.

Florrie said Price’s quick thinking prevented her suffering a worse fate.

“I cannot express my gratitude enough for everything he did, when I’m sure he was ready to shut up the pharmacy for the day at 4.55pm on a Friday evening.

“Sepsis itself is so scary, and without knowing about pharmacy services and utilising Kyle’s experience, by the time I got home and saw my own registered GP on the Monday, it could have been too late.”

Insisting his intervention highlighted the potentially life-saving role community pharmacists play, Price said: “I’m just glad I had the resources to hand and could pass that knowledge on. Campaigns like this really do make a difference.”