September 15, 2025Every year in September, the Step on Sepsis team participates in World Sepsis Day campaigns to celebrate our achievements in improving sepsis care at Northern Health, and to remind everyone of the seriousness of this life-threatening disease.
World Sepsis Day (13 September) is a vital reminder that sepsis remains one of the world’s deadliest emergencies, affecting millions of people each year. It can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime – but with early recognition and timely treatment, lives can be saved.
At Northern Health, we proudly join the global effort to reduce the burden of sepsis through our Step on Sepsis program, a locally developed initiative that continues to drive evidence-based sepsis care across the organisation. Headed by Associate Professor Craig Aboltins, together with project coordinators Cassandra Gilbert and Yasmin Sungkar, Step on Sepsis has led to measurable improvements in the identification, treatment and outcomes of patients presenting with or developing sepsis.
“Sepsis is a medical emergency that can affect anyone,” says Dr Aboltins. “Those that are very young, very old, have other medical conditions or lowered immune systems are particularly at risk. Every year sepsis claims more lives than road accidents in Australia. When sepsis is recognised and treated early, lives can be saved. It is important that people who have an infection who quickly become extremely unwell seek urgent medical care.”
Step on Sepsis was first introduced in Northern Health’s Emergency Department in 2013 and has since expanded to the wards and external sites. Most recently, the program was implemented at Kilmore District Hospital, where educators collaborated with the Step on Sepsis team to develop a tailored Sepsis Checklist. This tool supports staff in identifying and responding to patients who have or are at risk of sepsis, ensuring they are managed with best practice protocols. Raising awareness through education and resource development for clinical staff is also part of the core mission of the Step on Sepsis program. In support of this mission, an LMS sepsis hub was recently launched to centralise all the sepsis related resources for Northern Health staff.
To mark World Sepsis Day this September, the Step on Sepsis team is leading a series of activities to raise awareness of sepsis among staff and our community.
Be sure to visit the foyer display board, which will feature important information about sepsis and the Step on Sepsis program.
Our Step on Sepsis coordinators will also be touring Northern Hospital Epping, speaking with patients and staff, and sharing valuable sepsis resources.
And don’t miss out on the online sepsis quiz – you could test your knowledge and go in the draw to win a coffee voucher!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LZYXF8P
To find out more about sepsis management at Northern Health, click here.
If you would like to know more about Sepsis and World Sepsis Day head to:
https://www.worldsepsisday.org/
https://www.australiansepsisnetwork.net.au/
Pictured in the featured image (L-R): Cassandra Gilbert and Yasmin Sungkar.
