Sepsis Clinical Care Standard

The Commission is developing a Sepsis Clinical Care Standard to provide guidance to clinicians and health service organisations when investigating and managing sepsis, and information to consumers about the care they can expect to receive.

Print

Consultation: Sepsis Clinical Care Standard

The public consultation on the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard closed on Thursday 30th September 2021.

Following public consultation, the Commission will review all comments and use this analysis to finalise the draft clinical care standard.

More information about the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard is provided below.

Background

The Commission is developing a Sepsis Clinical Care Standard, one of eight projects commissioned under the National Sepsis Program.

Currently, Australia does not have a nationally agreed guideline on sepsis. A Sepsis Clinical Care Standard and supporting materials will be developed to support improvements in the delivery of sepsis care.

The goal of the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard is to ensure that a patient presenting with signs and symptoms of sepsis receives optimal care, from symptom onset through to discharge from hospital and survivorship care. This includes timely recognition of sepsis, early and appropriate antimicrobial therapy and continuity of care from the acute setting through to discharge and survivorship.

The Sepsis Clinical Care Standard Topic Working Group

The Commission develops clinical care standards with advice from a multidisciplinary topic working group including clinicians, consumers and researchers. The Sepsis Clinical Care Standard Topic Working Group has been established and membership details are provided below.

All topic working group members are required to disclose financial, personal and professional interests that could, or could be perceived to, influence a decision made, or advice given to the Commission. Disclosures are managed in line with the Commission’s Policy on Disclosure of Interests.

Literature review

To inform development, the Commission engaged KP Health to carry out a rapid literature review to better understand the investigation and management of sepsis.

The literature review addresses the following research questions:

  1. What relevant evidence-based clinical guidelines and systematic reviews are available that can be used as an evidence-base for the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard? What is the quality of these guidelines and systematic reviews?
  2. What do current guidelines and systematic reviews recommend regarding the diagnosis, investigation and management of sepsis and what is the evidence level for these? What if any, are the differences between key current guidelines?
  3. How is variation in sepsis outcomes measured? What evidence is available to indicate that health care delivery for sepsis in Australia is not in line with best available evidence?
  4. What programs or interventions have been used to improve health care delivery and outcomes for sepsis and what were their outcomes?
  5. What audits, indicators and data collection mechanisms have been developed or are in use to support the measurement of care improvement for sepsis?

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard, please email ccs@safetyandquality.gov.au

For future updates on Standards due to be launched and out for consultation, follow us on Twitter @ACSQHC or subscribe to our eNewsletters.

Related links
Clinical Care Standards
National Sepsis Program
Topics
Clinical Care Standards