Communiqué 9: National Sepsis Program Oversight Group – 19 June 2025

National Sepsis Program Oversight Group

The Oversight Group is chaired by Conjoint Professor Carolyn Hullick, Chief Medical Officer at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission). 

The George Institute for Global Health provided an overview of recent global engagement, national advocacy and research including: 

• continued leadership and advocacy domestically and as part of the global sepsis alliance including the launch of a global sepsis innovation platform
• a social media campaign focusing on influenza and respiratory illness
• 21 active research partnerships plus future research projects that are being scoped
• a consumer-led gap analysis of the national sepsis action plan. 

The Commission provided an overview of project implementation: 

• Members noted over 500 people have completed the sepsis in primary care education module in the first few weeks post launch
• Members suggested changes to an interactive illustration of a new sepsis coordination and post sepsis model of care framework, and business case.
• Members also discussed the importance of clear communication with patients about their infection and planned treatment, tailored to their location and care setting. They advocated for continuity of care through hospital-in-the-home models or coordinated primary care follow-up to reduce duplication and improve collaboration among health professionals. 

Members noted a new discussion paper released by the Lowitja Institute, Keeping Research on Track? which examines ethical considerations in research partnerships with First Nations peoples. 

Members heard about the development of the third edition of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and provided initial thoughts about standards implementation, the inclusion of sepsis alerts, and active engagement with families to identify acute deterioration. 

Professor Karin Thursky provided an overview of her sabbatical to examine sepsis care in digital health systems, visiting Italy, the USA and Canada. Members recommended further

discussion with the Commission’s Digitally Enabled Care Committee. Dr Julie Dockerty summarised the WA Sepsis Grand Round, and a workshop facilitated by Dr Ron Daniels (UK Sepsis Trust). Members noted that sepsis awareness in the UK is at 96%. 

Next steps

The Oversight Group will meet for the final time in August 2025. 

Enquiries

If you would like to be added to the distribution list for this communiqué, please email sepsis@safetyandquality.gov.au.