In this section :

Recognizing Deteriorating Patient Condition in a General Care Setting 

When introducing early warning tools and systems, it's important to consider design, implementation and evaluation processes that include all relevant team members, as with any improvement opportunity. Meaningful consultation and contribution is key to implementing and sustaining improvement. 

The following tools and resources will assist you in recognizing and responding to the deteriorating patient condition in a general care setting. 

• Symptoms of sepsis, Sepsis Alliance (2018)  
• National Early Warning System, HSE Ireland (2019) 
• Adult Patient Observation Chart, Irish National Early Warning System (INEWS) - HSE.ie (nd) 
• Safety Is Personal – Partnering with Patients and Families for the Safest Care, National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute (2014) 
• Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration Standard, The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2017) 
• HIROC Risk Reference Sheets, Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (nd) 
• The Deteriorating Trauma Patient, Victoria State Trauma System, Australia (nd) 

Early warning systems 

If you are interested in learning more about early warning systems using an electronic health or medical record, the teams at either Hamilton Health Sciences via Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud (foxrob@hhsc.ca) or Dr. Michael Miletin at William Osler Health System (Michael.Miletin@williamoslerhs.ca) would be happy to speak with you. 

TeamSTEPPS Canada™ 

Seventy percent of all preventable harm events experienced by patients are linked to a breakdown in communication. TeamSTEPPS Canada Essentials Course helps healthcare organizations optimize patient care by improving communication and teamwork skills among healthcare professionals, including point-of-care staff. The TeamSTEPPS Canada Essentials course is built on an evidence-based framework to optimize performance across the healthcare delivery system. It consists of five key principles: team structure, communication, leading teams, situational monitoring and mutual support.