Pilot launched to improve detection of deteriorating patients

UCLPartners is inviting trusts from across the partnership to apply to be part of an exciting pilot of an innovative respiratory rate monitor, RespiraSense.

RespiraSense is the world’s only continuous and motion-tolerant respiratory rate monitor. It improves quality of care by enhancing the ability of clinical teams to identify patients whose condition is deteriorating up to 12 hours earlier than usual. Developed by PMD Solutions, RespiraSense has been selected as part of the NHS innovation Accelerator.

Respiratory rate is the earliest and most sensitive indicator of patient deterioration, yet it is often poorly monitored. This innovative device can support hospitals to improve the detection of, and response to, clinical deterioration in patients with acute illness.

Up to six trusts will be selected to take part in the initial set-up phase for the pilot, with up to four being selected to go through to the full implementation phase, receiving a free six month supply of RespiraSense.

Myles Murray, inventor of RespiraSense said: “I’m excited to work with UCLPartners and trusts across the geography to improve monitoring of respiratory rate. By identifying deteriorating patients sooner, we hope that trusts will be able to improve the quality of care they provide for patients, and enable us to further evaluate the effectiveness of RespiraSense in a variety of real world settings.”

John Illingworth, Head of Patient Safety at UCLPartners said: “Improving the identification and management of patient deterioration is a local and national priority for the NHS, and an area UCLPartners has focused on for a number of years. By embracing new innovations like RespiraSense, we can continue to support hospitals across our geography to improve the quality and safety of care for acutely ill patients.”

Supporting implementation of NEWS2

Respiratory rate is a key component of NEWS2 – the National Early Warning Score that will become the standard for identifying patient deterioration in England by April 2019. UCLPartners, as part of the national patient safety collaborative programme, is supporting hospitals across the partnership with their implementation of NEWS2.As part of the application process UCLPartners will need to collect and store some personal data about applicants. Download our Local Privacy Notice to find out more.