A new training is helping care home staff across Hartlepool and Stockton monitor residents' health more effectively. The programme, delivered by the North Tees and Hartlepool Education Alliance (NTHEA), introduces the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) system to 50 local care homes.
The NTHEA , which includes local NHS trusts, borough councils, and Alice House Hospice, has spent three years training staff to identify the early warning signs of ill health. Using digital technology, staff now record vital signs including respiration, oxygen levels, blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and consciousness levels.
These readings create an electronic score shared with community specialists, such as community matrons. This allows for faster, more informed decisions regarding a resident's care, often preventing the need for emergency hospital admission.
The impact on local hospital resources has been . Between September 2017 and September 2018, emergency admissions from care homes dropped from 60 to 49 in Hartlepool and from 95 to 85 in Stockton. This reduction resulted in cost savings of over £150,000.
At The White House residential home in Stockton, senior care worker Holly Golt explained that the training has increased staff confidence. By performing monthly assessments, staff can detect subtle changes in a resident’s condition early, ensuring they only contact doctors or hospitals when necessary.
Archive : This story is based on reporting originally published by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust on 2020-02-20. The original source image has been and credited.