Implementation of Bedside Pediatric Early Warning Systems (PEWS)

Timely identification, referral and treatment of children who are clinically deteriorating while admitted to hospital wards is a fundamental element of inpatient care. In community hospitals, advantages including greater continuity of inpatient-outpatient care, improved geographic access for families, and lower healthcare system costs, may be undermined if children with evolving critical illness are not recognized and transferred in a timely manner. The Bedside Paediatric Early Warning System (Bedside PEWS) is a system of care designed to augment existing expertise and to provide a safety net for children who are clinically deteriorating while admitted to hospital wards. The Bedside PEWS is comprised of 4 components; [1] an expert derived, multi-centre validated severity of illness score, [2] an inter-professionally developed documentation record into which the severity of illness score is embedded, [3] a series of score-matched care recommendations based on the opinions of over 280 paediatric health care professionals, and [4] an educator-developed education-implementation program.