The National Early Warning Score NEWS  was developed by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012 to standardise the process of recording, scoring and responding to changes in routinely measured physiological parameters in acutely ill patients.

In December 2017, an updated version of NEWS,. It contains welcome improvements on the previous version of NEWS. For example, the chronic hypoxia sub chart helps to better tailor escalation to baseline oxygen levels in those with respiratory disease. It also includes the addition of delirium to the consciousness sub chart, and the reinforcement of the value of aggregate scores versus single parameter extreme recordings.

NEWS2: the benefits of standardisation

This video explains why the National Early Warning Score was developed; how it can be used to identify acute deterioration, including sepsis and the benefits of a standardised early warning system.

Find out more

If you would like more information on NEWS please visit visit the Royal College of Physicians website .

The Royal College of General Practitioners e-learning site provides a collection of resources and guidance in their sepsis toolkit.