Crash course in saving lives.Byline: Lachlan Mackinnon Lachlan Mackinnon (born 1956) is a contemporary English poet, critic and literary journalist. He was born in Aberdeen and educated at Charterhouse and Oxford. He lives in Winchester with the poet Wendy Cope, and teaches English at Winchester College. A NEW early warning system for patients in danger of cardiac arrest cardiac arrest n. Abbr. CA A sudden cessation of cardiac function, resulting in loss of effective circulation. Cardiac arrest A condition in which the heart stops functioning. has been hailed a success. The system works by monitoring patients' vital signs and giving them an overall score. If their score is low, they receive treatment before they get to the stage where their heart stops. The system was brought in at Fife hospitals in April. Since then, "crash calls" - where patients go into cardiac arrest - have fallen from a rate of seven per 1000 patients to four at Queen Margaret Queen Margaret may refer to: Two Queens of Denmark:
As well as preventing patients becoming critically ill, the system means intensive care staff - who have to respond to crash calls - can spend more time on their wards. Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The early warning scoring system is contributing to a substantial fall in patient emergencies." CAPTION(S): RESULTS: Sturgeon |
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