This practical guideline “Recognition of and response to acute illness in adults in hospital” with recommendations for the measurement and recording of a set of physiological observations, linked to a 'track and trigger' system. Patients who are admitted to hospital believe that they are entering a place of safety, where they, and their families and carers, have a right to believe that they will receive the best possible care. They feel confident that, should their condition deteriorate, they are in the best place for prompt and effective treatment. Yet there is evidence to the contrary.
Patients who are, or become, acutely unwell in the hospital may receive suboptimal care. This may be because their deterioration is not recognised, or because – despite indications of clinical deterioration – it is not appreciated, or not acted upon sufficiently rapidly. Communication and documentation…
