John Burgess

Australian television and radio broadcaster John Burgess considers himself one of the lucky survivors of sepsis who “dodged a bullet”. In February 2022, John became rapidly unwell after waking up one morning feeling nauseated, weak, and drowsy. Due to his wife’s insistence, he was rushed to the hospital and found himself in ICU. Crucially, the graveness of his condition and the signs of sepsis were recognized early by the medical team who started antibiotics straight away.

Despite John’s life-long career in the media, often championing health issues, he had never heard of sepsis and was shocked to learn that around 9,000 Australians die every year from this preventable condition.

John continues to struggle with post-sepsis syndrome but has returned as host for his radio show 6iX and features in print media and television screens across Australia on the Channel 9 Network to tell his story. From his lived experience of sepsis, he uses his mainstream media networks and social media channels to raise awareness of sepsis in the Australian community. In June 2022, John advocated for the launch of the national Sepsis Clinical Care Standard for all health services, which is now a requirement for health service accreditation across Australia.