Field trials of the Baby Check score card in general practice.

Sixteen general practitioners (GPs) used the Baby Check score card to assess illness severity in 86 babies under 6 months old. Their reactions to Baby Check were positive: in 79 (92%) it gave an accurate assessment of the baby's illness and 16 (100%) said they would trust it. Fifteen (94%) found it useful, and most of those who did not said the baby was not ill or had an obvious diagnosis. Thirteen (81%) said they would use it and wanted their health visitors and midwives to use it and 15 (94%) wanted the mothers in their practice to use it. The majority (64%) of babies scored 0-7; 31% scored 8 to 19; and only 5% scored over 20. Well babies had low scores, while the two sickest babies, needing urgent hospital treatment, scored 29 and 33. The use of Baby Check by GPs would help them assess babies thoroughly and quantify illness severity objectively.