Nuffield Health hospitals to implement national paediatric early-warning system to help clinicians spot and treat deteriorating children

NHS England announced in November that its hospitals are rolling out a new early warning system for doctors and nurses treating children to quickly identify deterioration, escalate care, and act on parental concerns. The system, called the National Paediatric Early Warning System (PEWS), is a collaboration between NHS England, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and The Royal College of Nursing.

It allows doctors to track possible deterioration in a child’s condition on a chart, measuring blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and levels of consciousness, with different scores representing the level of concern.

At Nuffield Health, 30 of the charity’s 37 hospitals see children and young people with a variety of conditions. While they already have paediatric early-warning systems in place, this change will provide a single, national standardised process for patients, families, and staff to have a clear way of ensuring issues are detected and escalated rapidly.

“We owe our younger patients and their families the highest standards of quality and safety, says Alison McCourt CBE ARRC, Nuffield Health’s Clinical Services Director. “If a parent or carer raises a concern that their child is getting ill or sicker than the score shows, this will immediately escalate the child’s care regardless of other clinical observations.

“Nuffield Health hospitals are key parts of local connected healthcare systems and ensuring our early warning systems are consistent with the new national roll-out in the NHS will positively impact the care journey of our younger patients, their families and our clinical teams,” adds Alison.

Jamie Crew, National Lead for Children and Young people for Nuffield Health, says: 

“This is an important turning point in child health within the independent sector, mirroring the approach in the NHS. 

“We believe we are the first independent provider to implement this standardised change. It provides improved working methods and safety, supporting doctors and nurses to do the very best for the children and young people in their care.”

Last updated Thursday 1 August 2024

First published on Wednesday 31 July 2024