Meeting physical health needs: The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) project

A national early warning scoring system (NEWS) for acutely ill patients in hospital was recommended following the report of a working group of the Royal College of Physicians. As a result, a guideline related to acutely ill patients in hospital was published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (2007). The physical health and wellbeing needs of people with a mental illness and learning disability are well documented in both statutory and clinical literature. There is now a considerable body of research highlighting significantly poorer physical health outcomes for patients with serious mental illness, with a premature mortality rate average of 20 years earlier than the general population. This article presents to implementation service evaluation/quality improvement initiative in one NHS trust which involved the implementation of the Modified Early Warning Scoring System (MEWS) that enables staff to assess, recognise and respond to the physical health needs of people with mental health ...