Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week is Sepsis Survivor Week. Due to sepsis, every 20 minutes an Australian is admitted to ICU and every hour one Australian dies. This is resulting in more death and harm to Australians than breast cancer, prostate cancer and road accidents combined. Sepsis disproportionately affects First Nations people who suffer at four times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians.

So yesterday I was proud to host a parliamentary briefing about sepsis with Territorian and Is It Sepsis president, Yvette Clarke. Sepsis is a medical emergency that can start from any infection; it could be an insect bite, the flu or even a UTI. With sepsis, they can become deadly within hours, so please get to know the signs: confusion, fever and chills, fast heart rate and breathing, low urine, vomiting, diarrhoea and feeling extremely unwell. If you are concerned that it could be sepsis, get to a hospital and ask the question, 'Is it sepsis?' These three words—'Is it sepsis?'—could save a life. For more information on the signs of sepsis, go to isitsepsis.org.