NHS England: National Early Warning Score (NEWS)

Summary

NEWS is a tool developed by the Royal College of Physicians which improves the detection and response to clinical deterioration in adult patients and is a key element of patient safety and improving patient outcomes.

In December 2017, an updated version of NEWS, NEWS2 was published.

NEWS2 has been endorsed by NHS England and NHS Improvement – for use in acute and ambulance settings.

NEWS2 has seen widespread uptake across the NHS in England – at present 100% of ambulance trusts and 76% of acute trusts are using NEWS2, with other early warning scores in place in other areas. However, confusion caused by the current variation in practice can compromise patient safety, something that would be eliminated by use of a common tool. Through standardisation of NEWS2, we can reduce the number of patients whose conditions deteriorate whilst in hospital, and potentially save over 1,800 lives a year.