National standardisation of paediatric early warning systems and their impact on care

Professor Damian Roland, consultant in paediatric emergency medicine and honorary professor at Leicester Hospitals and University of Leicester, provides insights into the development and implementation of national standardised paediatric early warning systems (PEWS) in the UK. The discussion highlights how, for many years, hospitals used a variety of PEWS, leading to confusion and inconsistency when clinicians moved between settings. In response, NHS England, the RCPCH, and the RCN collaborated to create a national program, resulting in the release of a standardised PEWS in late 2023. Currently, 60% of hospitals are either using the new system or are in the process of implementing it. Professor Roland also describes an exciting pilot program extending PEWS into emergency departments and, ultimately, into the wider community as part of the SPOT (Systemwide Paediatric Observation Tracking) initiative. This will enable all healthcare professionals to communicate about a child’s condition using a common language, improving safety and continuity of care. This interview took place at the RCPCH conference 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland.