The role of nurses in recognizing and responding to clinical deterioration is fundamental to patient safety in hospital settings. According to a recent scoping review, the variability in nurses’ skills, decision-making, and responsiveness plays a pivotal role in the outcomes of deteriorating patients¹. The review identifies key themes such as recognition of patient deterioration, nursing assessment, and the challenges nurses face in responding effectively to patient needs.
One of the significant findings from this review is the critical importance of nurses’ ability to recognize early signs of deterioration. Nurses are often the first to notice subtle changes in a patient’s condition. However, the study highlights inconsistencies in how nurses apply their clinical knowledge and experience to escalate care when necessary. Early recognition of clinical deterioration is vital, yet the review indicates that variability in experience, training and decision-making processes can lead to delays in care escalation. This gap can have significant consequences, as unaddressed clinical deterioration can result in rapid patient decline, potentially leading to serious adverse events, including ICU admissions or cardiac arrests¹.
Another significant finding is the inconsistency in using early warning systems (EWS) and how it affects patient safety. Despite these tools being widely available, nurses, who are often managing high patient volumes and prioritizing urgent tasks daily, may underutilize or fail to escalate care based on these systems’ alerts. The study emphasizes that adherence to EWS could reduce patient harm, but this requires ongoing training, improved communication among clinical teams, and effective use of the available technologies¹.
Advanced wireless monitoring systems, such as UbiqVue Multiparameter by Lifesignals, incorporating the UbiqVue 1AX Biosensor, can play a transformative role in addressing the challenges identified in this review. By delivering continuous, near real-time physiological data on a wide range of vital signs, nurses can be supported in monitoring patients, potentially reducing the variability in recognizing clinical deterioration. With UbiqVue Multiparameter, nurses can monitor heart rate, ECG waveforms and a suite of other critical physiological data without being physically present at the bedside. This capability is designed to enhance the nurse’s ability to identify subtle signs of decline, facilitating earlier interventions that could prevent further deterioration.
The UbiqVue 1AX Biosensor, a key component of the UbiqVue Multiparameter system, provides a non-invasive, continuous, near real-time stream of patient data designed to empower nursing staff to manage higher patient loads more effectively. Patient vital sign data can be tracked continuously, and any deviations from the norm can prompt timely alerts to nursing teams, ensuring that early warning signs are addressed. Furthermore, nurses can collaborate with the multidisciplinary clinical team to initiate timely escalation of care through the UbiqVue portal, utilizing communication channels such as email, SMS, or WhatsApp, designed to enable faster decision-making in patient care. This capability aligns well with the study’s recommendations for improving adherence to clinical deterioration protocols and enhancing overall patient safety¹.
By integrating UbiqVue’s advanced technologies into hospital workflows, nursing staff are in a better position to alleviate some of the burdens associated with standard manual patient checks, freeing up time to focus on critical thinking and decision-making. In addition, these wireless monitoring solutions can interface with existing hospital IT systems, ensuring that data is readily available for nurses and physicians without requiring substantial capital investment.
In conclusion, the findings of this scoping review underscore the importance of improving nurses’ recognition and response to clinical deterioration. The adoption of wireless patient monitoring technologies, such as the UbiqVue Multiparameter and the UbiqVue 1AX Biosensor, are designed to significantly improve patient outcomes by providing continuous, near real-time data.
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¹Donnelly N., Fry M., Elliott R., Merrick E. “The role of the ward nurse in recognition and response to clinical deterioration: a scoping review.” Contemporary Nurse, 2024. DOI: 10.1080/10376178.2024.2413125
Frequently Asked Questions About Wireless Patient Monitoring and UbiqVue
We know wireless patient monitoring and systems like UbiqVue can raise many questions. To help clarify how these technologies work and their benefits, we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions below.Nurses often face challenges such as high patient-to-nurse ratios, variability in experience, training, unclear escalation pathways, and inconsistent access to early warning systems. These factors can delay the recognition of clinical deterioration, leading to delayed interventions and compromised patient safety. Addressing these challenges with continuous monitoring systems can contribute to significantly improved response times.
Early detection of clinical deterioration is critical for preventing adverse events such as ICU admissions, cardiac arrests, or unplanned emergency interventions. Timely recognition and escalation of care lead to better patient outcomes, reduced complications, and shorter hospital stays.
Technology, like the UbiqVue Multiparameter, is designed to play a vital role in streamlining nurse communication during clinical escalation. Nurses can quickly collaborate with the wider clinical team via email, SMS, or WhatsApp within the platform, leading to coordinated decision-making and care escalation when a patient’s condition deteriorates.
Wireless patient monitoring solutions, like the UbiqVue Multiparameter, are designed to streamline nurse workflow by providing continuous, near real-time data of patient vital signs and other important health status parameters. This substantially reduces the need for frequent bedside spot checks, allowing nurses to focus on more critical patient care tasks and decision-making.
The UbiqVue Multiparameter is designed to replace routine bedside spot checks for a majority of patients, allowing nurses to remotely monitor vital signs while providing up-to-date status, trend insights, and smart alerts for early detection of clinical deterioration. This automated approach to routine monitoring supports the prevention of adverse events and improved patient outcomes.
