{"id":821534,"date":"2026-11-02T08:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T08:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/821534\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T08:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T08:12:12","slug":"nhs-introduces-new-ae-warning-system-to-spot-seriously-ill-children-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/821534\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS introduces new A&E warning system to spot seriously ill children faster"},"content":{"rendered":"

An ‘early warning system’ to spot deteriorating health in children faster is being introduced in A&Es across England, NHS<\/a> leaders have said.<\/p>\n

The National Paediatric Early Warning System (Pews) already exists for inpatients, but NHS England said this is the first time it will be used in emergency departments.<\/p>\n

Doctors and nurses can use Pews to measure, record and assess vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rates, oxygen levels and consciousness.<\/p>\n

A high score helps flag when a child is deteriorating and needs more urgent attention.<\/p>\n

The mass roll\u2013out in England will make Pews the largest standardised scoring system in the world and is being introduced in emergency departments from this winter, NHS England said.<\/p>\n

It added that Pews is not designed to replace professional judgment or the input of parents, carers and children into a child’s condition.<\/p>\n

Concerns raised can still trigger an immediate escalation of care, even if a child’s Pews score is low.<\/p>\n

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: ‘In fast\u2013paced emergency departments, staff need to spot quickly when a child’s condition is deteriorating.<\/p>\n

\"Duncan <\/p>\n

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said the new system will help staff quickly identify children who are getting sicker<\/p>\n

‘This standardised approach will help them recognise the warning signs, communicate concerns, and make timely decisions when every moment matters.<\/p>\n

‘Just as importantly, it makes sure the concerns of children, parents and carers are heard and can prompt action.’<\/p>\n

The new Pews includes age\u2013appropriate charts to reflect what may be abnormal signs of deterioration in babies, children and young people.<\/p>\n

The scheme has also been designed specifically for A&E to help with rapid decision\u2013making in busy environments.<\/p>\n

More than six million children attend A&Es in England each year. A similar process for adults, the National Early Warning System, is already used by NHS hospitals.<\/p>\n

Separately, NHS England is drawing up urgent new standards for how children should be treated in A&E, including eliminating corridor care for youngsters as a priority.<\/p>\n

Health secretary Yvette Cooper said: ‘I’ve been clear that children’s health needs to be a much greater focus for the whole NHS.<\/p>\n

‘All of us want the reassurance of knowing that if a child is seriously ill, it will be spotted in time by the NHS and that’s exactly what this new early warning system, developed by expert clinicians, is designed to do.<\/p>\n

‘So if a child is getting worse or when a parent says something isn’t right, they will be listened to, their concerns will be acted on and lives will be saved.’<\/p>\n

Dr Mike McKean, vice\u2013president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which worked on the new Pews system, said: ‘I am delighted to see this initiative being rolled out ahead of the winter period, which is always a busy and challenging time for hospitals and healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n

‘The launch of the emergency department Pews charts are extremely important tools that will support all paediatricians and wider child health teams to spot deterioration in children in hospital.<\/p>\n

‘Alongside training and resources, it will help teams across England improve equity, patient safety and quality of care.’<\/p>\n

Professor Lynn Woolsey, from the Royal College of Nursing, which was also involved in the work, said: ‘Early escalation is critical for keeping patients safe, particularly children.<\/p>\n

‘Already saving lives in other parts of the NHS, this system is a vital tool for nursing staff to quickly identify when a child patient is deteriorating, and act.<\/p>\n

‘The emphasis on listening to children, young people, parents and carers is especially important and having a standardised approach across emergency departments and paediatric wards will help support consistent assessment, communication and decision\u2013making.<\/p>\n

‘It will be crucial to ensure there are enough nursing staff, with enough capacity, and the necessary training and support, to spot deterioration and use the system effectively.’<\/p>\n

More than 90 hospitals across England use the national inpatient Pews system and data suggests they are seeing consistently lower rates of cardiac arrests among their patients, NHS England said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An ‘early warning system’ to spot deteriorating health in children faster is being introduced in A&Es across England,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[97,102,2960,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-821534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-dailymail","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}