In the lead up to organisation wide Accreditation from 24-28 May 2021, each week Northern Health is focusing on a different Standard. You will hear from the Chairs of each Standard Committee on what you need to know.

This week we spoke to Dr Anthony Cross, Head of ICU, about Standard 8: Recognising and Responding to Acute Deterioration

What is this Standard about?

Standard 8 aims to ensure that a person’s acute deterioration is recognised quickly and appropriate action and response occurs. Acute deterioration could be physiological changes or changes in cognition and mental state. Recognition of deterioration could be by a clinician, family member, carer, or the patient.

At Northern Health, this standard looks like….

• Observation and response charts with a track and trigger systems are utilised to prompt staff of acute deterioration
• Processes are in place to ensure correct escalation
• Resuscitation training for staff with direct patient care is mandated to promote patient safety
• Medical Emergency Teams respond to escalation of acute deterioration
• Cardiac arrest HAC, MET and Code Blue data is monitored and reported on

What are the top 5 ways staff can be prepared for Accreditation against this Standard?

1. Know the process for escalating acute deterioration and where to locate the procedure
2. Ensure you and your patients are familiar with the REACH escalation process
3. Know where your resuscitation equipment is kept, how to know it has stocked and equipment is working
4. Complete the Observation and Response Chart audit and ensure your departments compliance with questions
5. Ensure you have completed your mandatory online resuscitation module and successfully completed the online assessment

What are the top 5 questions staff needs to be able to answer about this Standard?

1. How do you know when to escalate acute deterioration and how do you do this?
2. If you do not have a response after you have activated an emergency call due to acute deterioration, what is the process to escalate this and ensure timely care is delivered?
3. What is the process for patients, carers or families to escalate care?
4. Where is your resuscitation equipment located and how do you know it is available and stocked?
5. How do you access the resuscitation training?

Is there anything else you would like staff to know about this Standard?

Standard 8 is part of your daily work when caring for patients. Ensure you escalate care if your patient falls into PreMET or MET criteria and if you have no response or there is no one logged on to Medtasker, escalate as per the Deteriorating Patient procedure. Always remember to engage your patient and their families in their care, even in an emergency situation and ensure they are aware of the REACH process.

To learn more about Standard 8, please see the Intranet.