NEWS 2: an opportunity to standardise the management of deterioration and sepsis
BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1260 (Published 20 March 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;360:k1260
- Matt Inada-Kim, consultant acute physician and sepsis lead, national clinical advisor for sepsis and deterioration1,
- Emmanuel Nsutebu, consultant infectious diseases physician and sepsis lead, national clinical advisor for sepsis and deterioration2
- 1Royal Hampshire County Hospital, UK
- 2Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit, Royal Liverpool Hospital, UK
- mattinadakim{at}hotmail.com
Currently, hospitals across England don’t use a standardised early warning system (EWS) to identify patients at risk of deterioration or sepsis, or in need of intervention. No other safety critical industry would tolerate this. The NHS has evolved into tribes who use different dialects to describe sickness.
Whatever the system, it must be usable and utilised in all settings. A score in one setting must mean the same in any other. Although doctors rarely use EWS when communicating with each other regarding a patient, they provide a safety mechanism to make sure that nurses flag up deteriorating patients on the ward, and that patients are prioritised based on their mortality risk. …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £184 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£50 / $60/ €56 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.