NHS England is rolling out a national standardised approach of tracking the deterioration of children in hospital.

The National Paediatric Early Warning System or PEWS will allow for consistency in how deterioration in children is recognised.

Currently, many hospitals track deterioration differently and this can present challenges for staff working across different hospital sites.

The project started in 2018 and is a collaboration between NHS England and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The PEWS charts have been collaboratively developed by clinical teams across England and will be used on general children’s wards.

Building on a programme of research and clinical piloting, the PEWS charts will be rolled out over the coming month.

The National PEWS charts should be used following completion of the associated e-learning module.

A digital specification has also been launched and is available as a beta specification. Find out more about the elearning and the beta digital specification on the FutureNHS SPOT page.

To find out more information visit the Royal College of Paediatric Health and Royal College of Nursing.