Responding to NHS England’s new warning system to spot deterioration in children’s health faster, Royal College of Nursing's Head of Nursing Practice, Wendy Preston, said:
“Parents must be able to raise the alarm if their child is becoming seriously unwell. In the past children have needlessly, and tragically died. Nursing is a safety-critical profession, and we have been calling for a standardised warning system in the NHS to try and stop such tragic cases from ever happening again.
“To help save patients’ lives, the Royal College of Nursing has played a key role in the development of this new warning system which will improve care for children and young people.
“We now need to see this warning system implemented successfully across the NHS. For it to be effective, there must be investment in the training and education of staff so they can use the new warning system to act swiftly when a patient’s condition deteriorates.”
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