'Could it be sepsis?' Listen, Look, Act to recognise sepsis or rule it out

3 September 2024

September 13 is World Sepsis Day, and a national campaign is raising awareness of sepsis in the community. The campaign will encourage people to ask, 'Could it be sepsis?' with a light-hearted tongue twister challenge ‘I’m sepsis susceptible and susceptible to sepsis’.

The campaign aims to improve sepsis recognition, educate about the signs and symptoms of sepsis and encourage people to find out more, including when and where to seek medical information and advice.

Sepsis is a medical emergency and the national Sepsis Clinical Care Standard supports early recognition and coordinated, best-practice care to reduce patient harm. The awareness campaign is led by the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC) in partnership with the George Institute for Global Health and Sepsis Australia. Resources are available to support clinicians when patients, carers and families ask, 'could it be sepsis?' to recognise sepsis or rule it out.

• Listen to the concerns of patients, carers and families
• Look for signs of sepsis and use a sepsis pathway
• Act to communicate and escalate.

"World Sepsis Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of sepsis and for clinicians to prepare for questions from patients, carers and families about sepsis," says Mary Fullick, Senior Improvement Lead, Adult Patient Safety Program at the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC).

"The CEC has recently revised the paper sepsis pathways for adult, maternal, neonatal and paediatric patients. The pathways provide guidance on sepsis risk factors, signs and symptoms, escalation to a senior clinician and rapid intervention.

"I encourage clinicians to use the pathways. They are your evidence-based guide as you listen to the concerns of patients, carers and families, look for the signs of sepsis, and act with clear communication using the local Clinical Emergency Response System," she says.

Visit the CEC's sepsis webpage for more information and resources to recognise and respond to sepsis.