A Birmingham doctor campaigning for better awareness of blood poisoning has won the backing of Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Dr Ron Daniels, a leading critical care consultant at Sutton Coldfield’s Good Hope Hospital, wants to raise the profile of sepsis, which kills 37,000 people in Britain each year.

That is more people than breast cancer, bowel cancer and prostate cancer combined.

The condition arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs.

It can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death especially if not recognised and treated promptly.

Dr Daniels travelled to Westminster to announce the launch of an all party Parliamentary group on sepsis, which he called a “major achievement”.

He said: “Boris Johnson was with us and was keen to know more about the work we are doing. It was great to have support from such a well-known figure.”

Dr Daniels chaired the day at Westminster with colleagues, healthcare leaders, patients, and MPs.

He also heads the UK Sepsis Trust charity, aimed at helping patients with the condition.

“We recognised the need to increase awareness and recognition of sepsis in patients and we started with the development of the Sepsis Six tool, designed to cut deaths from the condition, at Good Hope,” said Dr Daniels.

“The tool, created in 2006, has been taken on nationally across Scotland and Wales and will soon form part of NHS England’s priority work stream.”

The Health Service Ombudsman said last week that more needed to be done to save the lives of patients with sepsis.

It found significant failings in treatment of the condition.

The report focused on 10 patients who were not treated urgently enough and died.

Ombudsman Julie Mellor said: “In the cases in our report, sadly, all patients died. In some of these cases, with better care and treatment, they may have survived.”