Introducing a community version of National Early Warning Score (NEWS) to clinical assessments in acute clinical care has shown benefits for both patients and staff, and could be disseminated to all community services across the UK to improve recognition, treatment and outcomes for patients with sepsis.

Around 70% of sepsis cases originate in the community and, although the National Early Warning Score is mandatory in secondary care, its use has not been extended to primary and community care.

Community NEWS scoring was introduced in an acute clinical team to improve patient outcomes and reduce patient mortality through better detection and treatment of sepsis.

Staff confidence in recognising acute deterioration and sepsis increased from 77% to 92%, and community NEWS is now being rolled out to all community services in Wales.

Read More