This is a University Hospital Leicester story.
We currently have two adult early warning score (EWS) charts in place throughout the trust: one surgical and one medical. We would like to standardise this in line with the Keogh recomendations by introducing the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) chart.
The dilemma for us was that with three sites and 105 wards, if this was done ward by ward, it would not only be a lengthy process but it would also increase the risk to patients by having three early warning charts in place for the changeover period.
Then we had a “light bulb” moment.
As NHS change day this year is all about actions we felt that we could use this day to change from EWS to NEWS and decrease the risk to patients at the same time.
By making a film and promoting this throughout the trust we plan to identify some game makers who will make a real difference to patient safety by taking ownership of this from the bottom up as we have in introducing the idea.
Senior support for this has been real and forthcoming, and they have helped by promoting the message from the top down. But the real magic lies in the ward staff that will adopt and use the chart.
In the above film, Tara Marshall, Response Team Lead at University Hospital Leicester, explains the change over from surgical and medical charts to the new standardised National Early Warning Score (NEWS) chart.
You can find out more about the NEWS charts at the Royal College of Physicians website.
For their future actions, the University Hospital Leicester are planning to design some films around the deteriorating patient and human factors, to show as the year goes on.