Convenor invitation
It is our pleasure to invite you to the inaugural NZ Sepsis Conference 2021: Challenges for New Zealand to be held at the Novotel, in Rotorua from November 18-20. The conference is a combined meeting between Sepsis Trust New Zealand and Australasian Society for Infectious Disease (ASID).
We invite and encourage attendance from all healthcare professionals with an interest in the management of sepsis and infectious diseases from across the Australasian region. This will be a forum to review, discuss and even shape the optimal approach to the prevention, diagnosis and management of sepsis in Aotearoa, New Zealand. The conference will include plenary sessions, featuring a range of local and international keynote speakers, and parallel sessions which will include ASID-specific topics. We look forward to engaging with the wider medical community on this important topic.
The conference programme and our keynote speakers will cover a broad range of topics, spanning from clinical updates and controversies (e.g. antibiotic stewardship, diagnostics, resuscitation, sepsis management in special populations) to systems and population health (quality improvement, health inequity, surveillance data).
Sepsis (a life-threatening syndrome of organ failure caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection) is a topic of growing national and international importance. It is responsible for more deaths than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. Its management touches every part of the healthcare system, testing clinical acumen, hospital diagnostic capability, antimicrobial prescribing policy and the capacity to offer continuing support for survivors. Sepsis is more frequent amongst Maaori and Pacific people, linking it to increasingly urgent efforts to demonstrate equity in health outcomes and access.
Our chosen destination, Rotorua, has something for everyone - Culture, adventure, nature, excitement, relaxation, cuisine - whatever you enjoy! Feel the manaakitanga (hospitality) of the Te Arawa people. The conference venue and planned social programme will also provide plenty of opportunities for networking and robust discussion.
We look forward to seeing you there.
CONVENORS
Dr Daniel Dobbins, and Dr Christopher Hopkins
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Dr Paul Huggan
Dr Robert Martynoga
Harvey Duncan (CEO, Sepsis Trust NZ)
Dr Mark Hobbs
Dr Nigel Raymond
Marilena Salvo (CEO, ASID)