Implementing paediatric early warning scores systems in the Netherlands: future implications

Implementing paediatric early warning scores systems in the Netherlands: future implications.

BACKGROUND Paediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) are increasingly being used for early identification and management of clinical deterioration in paediatric patients. A PEWS system includes scores, cut-off points and appropriate early intervention. In 2011, The Dutch Ministry of Health advised hospitals to implement a PEWS system in order to improve patient safety in paediatric wards. The obje...

Republished: paediatric early warning scores: Holy Grail and Achilles' heel.

Early Warning Scores (EWS) have become increasingly used by hospitals throughout the world to prevent unexpected admission to intensive care or even death in their inpatient population. It is well known that signs of deterioration are present well before collapse and by a combination of systems, EWS enable healthcare professionals to intervene at an appropriate time. A number of national bodies...

Evidence-based paediatric nursing: paediatric early warning systems.

In hospital cardiac arrest are rare events in paediatrics. Most children receive appropriate care without experiencing undetected severe clinical deterioration during hospital admission. Outcomes of paediatric cardiac arrests are however generally poor, with high mortality rates and neurological damage at survival. A review of child mortality in the UK showed that a high proportion of unexpecte...

Early warning scores: a health warning.

Early warning scores are frequently used in UK adult emergency departments (EDs) and are gaining traction in paediatric emergency care. Like many innovations with inherent face validity, they have great appeal to clinicians, managers and commissioners. However, it is important to ensure unintended consequences and balancing measures are mitigated. We review the background to their development a...

An early warning on early warning systems!