Martin Neil, Magowan Wendy, O'Donnell Bevin
Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Nurs Manag (Harrow). 2019 Dec 2;26(6):15-20. doi: 10.7748/nm.2019.e1877. Epub 2019 Nov 16.
The Antrim Area Hospital Early Warning Score (HEWS) is an innovative method of assessing the level of pressure on an acute hospital site. It combines eight indicators to produce a score from 0 to 49, which is mapped to an escalation category, ranging from low to extreme pressure. The top two categories, 'severe' and 'extreme', have a corresponding range of escalation actions across service areas. This article explains why the Antrim Area HEWS was developed and the issues it sought to address, including 'escalation fatigue' among staff because of the normalisation of high alert status. The article includes an analysis of Antrim Area HEWS data collected over one year. It discusses the benefits of the Antrim Area HEWS including: the provision of a simple, objective method for assessing site pressure; increased awareness of site pressure among various service areas; enhanced staff support and understanding of the need for effective escalation; and the development of a focused and meaningful approach that has overcome the escalation fatigue associated with previous escalation frameworks.
安特里姆地区医院早期预警评分（HEWS）是一种评估急症医院压力水平的创新方法。它结合了八个指标得出0至49分，该分数对应一个从低压力到极端压力的分级类别。最高的两个类别，即“严重”和“极端”，在各个服务领域都有相应的一系列升级行动。本文解释了安特里姆地区HEWS的开发原因以及它试图解决的问题，包括由于高警戒状态常态化导致工作人员出现“升级疲劳”。本文还对一年多来收集的安特里姆地区HEWS数据进行了分析。它讨论了安特里姆地区HEWS的益处，包括：提供一种简单、客观的方法来评估医院压力；提高各个服务领域对医院压力的认识；增强工作人员的支持并理解有效升级的必要性；以及形成一种有针对性且有意义的方法，克服了与先前升级框架相关的升级疲劳。
