ABSTRACT
Recognising, monitoring, interpreting and responding to changes in a patient’s
health status are core nursing skills. The Audit Commission (1999) report Critical
to Success highlighted that hospitals should review services available to acutely ill
patients, recommending the availability of outreach services with ward staff being
trained to deal with deterioration in a patient’s condition. In 2000, the Department
of Health (DH) advised that outreach teams should be an integral part of critical
care services. However, the National Patient Safety Agency (2007) reported that
some patients’ clinical and physiological deterioration was not recognised or acted
upon. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2007)
urged hospitals to keep acutely ill patients’ care at the forefront and recommended
key priorities for care of acutely ill patients (see www.nice.org).
