Sepsis

Sepsis resources for health professionals

Sepsis is a life-threatening and time critical condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs. Improving early detection, recognition and treatment of sepsis are key to improving outcomes and preventing death from this condition. Below are resources to help health professionals recognise and manage sepsis.

Standardised clinical sepsis pathways

Standardised sepsis pathways support clinicians to identify sepsis risk factors, signs and symptoms; to support the escalation of patients of concern, to a senior clinician for assessment; and to guide further management. This may include urgent resuscitation which includes rapid antibiotic treatment and haemodynamic support.

The WA Sepsis Pathway Project is a statewide initiative led by Patient Safety and Clinical Quality at the Department of Health, in collaboration with WA clinicians and expert working groups, aimed at standardising sepsis care across the State. The project aims to reduce clinical variation in care, improve health outcomes for people with sepsis across WA Health, reduce duplication of effort across Health Service Providers (HSPs) in developing pathways and support hospitals in meeting the Sepsis Clinical Care Standard (CCS)(external site)

Please note:

• The pathway templates provide functionality for hospital specific escalation of care (hospitals to provide information in blue text prompts). Hospital/health service level endorsement and governance processes are required.
• Sepsis pathways are intended to support treatment and management and do not replace senior clinician judgement. Performing a full clinical assessment is recommended, tailored to the individual patient’s presentation, comorbidities and contextual factors.