• Anne Pullyblank, Alison Tavaré, Hannah Little, Emma Redfern, Hein le Roux, Matthew Inada-Kim, Kate Cheema, Adam Cook, and West of England Patient Safety Collaborative.
• West of England Academic Health Science Network, Marlborough Street, Bristol.
• Br J Gen Pract. 2020 Jun 1; 70 (695): e381e388e381-e388.

BackgroundThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS) was introduced to standardise early warning scores (EWS) in England. It has been recommended that NEWS should be used in pre-hospital care but there is no published evidence that this improves outcomes. In 2015, the West of England Academic Health Science Network region standardised to NEWS across all healthcare settings. Calculation of NEWS was recommended for acutely unwell patients at referral into secondary care.AimTo evaluate whether implementation of NEWS across a healthcare system affects outcomes, specifically addressing the effect on mortality in patients with suspicion of sepsis (SOS).Design And SettingA quality improvement project undertaken across the West of England from March 2015 to March 2019, with the aim of standardising to NEWS in secondary care and introducing NEWS into community and primary care.MethodData from the national dashboard for SOS for the West of England were examined over time and compared to the rest of England. Quality improvement methodology and statistical process control charts were used to measure improvement.ResultsThere was a reduction in mortality in the SOS cohort in the West of England, which was not seen in the rest of England over the time period of the project. Admissions did not increase. By March 2019, the West of England had the lowest mortality in the SOS cohort in England.ConclusionTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that use of NEWS in pre-hospital care is associated with improved outcomes in patients with SOS.©The Authors.

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