ABSTRACT
Deterioration in respiratory function is a major cause of serious illness, emergency admissions to hospital and referral to critical care departments in the United Kingdom (UK) (Dunn, 2005; Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2014). Developing the healthcare professional’s ability to perform a respiratory assessment and correctly interpret the findings would assist in identifying deterioration earlier and accelerate the instigation of appropriate intervention (Hunter and Rawlings-Anderson, 2008; Higginson and Jones, 2009). Far from an extended skill, the ability to undertake a comprehensive respiratory assessment is now an essential skill (Wheeldon, 2005; Simpson, 2006; Ferns and West, 2008).
