Sepsis Australia collaborating on quality improvement with our SWISS colleagues

JUST ASK, COULD IT BE SEPSIS?

Sepsis is a life-threatening response to any infection that progresses quickly and requires immediate attention. Know the signs and symptoms (one or all of the following may be present).

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF SEPSIS

Rapid breathing

Rapid heart rate

Confusion, slurred speech or disorientation

Fever or shivering

Muscle pain

Not passing urine

Discoloured skin

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO!

Early-stage sepsis:

Sufferers are generally unwell, may display one or all of the signs and symptoms, feel worse than when previously sick and there is concern
Contact healthdirect at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/ OR Call 1800 022 222 (24 hours) and ask…could it be sepsis?

Later stage sepsis:

Sufferers are seriously unwell, likely to display significant changes in multiple signs and symptoms, feel like they might die and there is serious concern
CALL 000 Ambulance or if quicker go immediately to the closest Emergency Department and ask….could it be sepsis?

Key considerations:

If concerned get advice immediately
If seriously concerned get treatment immediately
Inflammation due to infection is normal but in sepsis the inflammation response is uncontrolled, it may start mildly but rapidly escalate to critical illness
Sepsis is difficult to recognise as it may not have an obvious cause, it can look like viral or bacterial illnesses such as flu, gastro or urinary tract infection
Trust your intuition…if it doesn’t feel right TAKE ACTION and always ask…could it be sepsis?

symptom checker Call 000

The burden imposed by sepsis in Switzerland contrasts with the lack in public awareness, insufficient
institutional efforts to reduce sepsis, as well as absence of national coordination and monitoring to
reduce the impact of sepsis. Sepsis has often been called a disease of systematic failure to
learn.

Root-cause-analyses of patients who die of sepsis commonly reveal reoccurring patterns of
delayed presentation by patients and families due to lack of awareness, delayed recognition by
healthcare staff, and missed opportunities for effective interventions once sepsis is recognized. In
addition, survivors and family members are often left poorly informed about sepsis and its long-term
sequelae which are not appropriately addressed by existing support structures. Other healthcare
systems have summarized these challenges unique to sepsis as the combined effect of a lack of:

– Awareness and education of the public and healthcare workforce
– Standards and pathways for sepsis recognition and treatment
– Follow-up systems for survivor and family support and rehabilitation

In response to that gap, recently, a group of sepsis experts across Switzerland formed a national
multidisciplinary panel to identify the need, gaps, and strategies to address sepsis in Switzerland.
Subsequently, in June 2022 key stakeholders convened at a policy roundtable in Berne
to address the pressing need to improve awareness, prevention, and treatment of sepsis in
Switzerland. Participants included clinical, academic and policy professionals as well as sepsis
survivors from different regions in Switzerland.

The format and processes used to convene the round table and reach consensus on national priorities, to inform the SWISS Sepsis National Action Plan 2022, were based on those used by Sepsis Australia (then the Australian Sepsis Network) in 2017 to Australian Stopping Sepsis National Action Plan https://www.australiansepsisnetwork.net.au/home/ssnap-2

The goal of the roundtable was to formulate a set of consensus recommendations towards creating a Sepsis National Action Plan in Switzerland. The report Swiss Sepsis National Action Plan (SSNAP) September 2022 sets out an action plan to drive improvements in the treatment and recovery of patients with sepsis focusing on four overarching recommendations:

1. Launch a sepsis awareness and education campaign targeting the public, as well as the healthcare workforce.
2. Establish and implement a minimal national standard for the detection, treatment, and follow-up of sepsis.
3. Establish and implement support systems for sepsis survivors and for families affected by sepsis.
4. Promote national sepsis research including healthcare service, translational, and basic science research.

These overarching priorities reflect not only the Australian experience but also global priorities stipulated in the 2017 World Health Assembly Sepsis Resolution 70.7.

Read more here: Swiss-Sepsis-Action-Plan 2022