Bupa New Zealand is rolling out a digital tool to help
aged care employees consistently identify and respond to
early signs of health deterioration in residents.
The
tool is based on the Deterioration Early Warning System
(DEWS), which was trialled at Bupa’s Northhaven Care Home
during a feasibility study conducted in partnership with the
Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission and
the University of Auckland.
“DEWS helps us spot
subtle health issues early, so we can take action sooner to
help prevent serious problems and support better outcomes
for our residents.” says Sandy Turnwald, Clinical and
Quality Director at Bupa New Zealand.
Developed in New
Zealand by Julie Daltrey, Aged Residential Care Clinical
Lead at Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety
Commission, and Dr Michal Boyd, Honorary Associate Professor
at the University of Auckland, DEWS enables caregivers and
nurses to recognise small but significant changes in a
resident’s health – such as increased fatigue or reduced
appetite, before more serious symptoms
appear.
“Caregivers often notice when something
isn’t quite right. This evidence-based system gives
structure to those observations and automatically escalates
concerns to the Registered Nurse to take action,” says
Turnwald.
DEWS consists of three
tools:
- Quick-DEWS: Caregivers answer nine
questions about each resident each shift. If changes are
noted, the concern is escalated to the registered nurse
(RN). - RN-DEWS: The RN conducts a full clinical
assessment, generating a score and checklist to guide next
steps, such as closer monitoring or contacting a doctor or
nurse practitioner. - SBARR-DEWS: communication and
critical thinking tool to standardise handover to primary or
secondary care.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
Northhaven was one of five New
Zealand aged care homes that tested the paper version of
DEWS, which showed improved health outcomes for residents.
Based on the results, Bupa decided to roll out the system to
all 40 of its care homes and integrate it into its
electronic resident management system, enhancing usability,
consistency and visibility across care
teams.
Bupa is also convening a working
group with two other aged care providers using the VCare
management system. Together, with VCare, they are building
and testing the digital version of DEWS which is expected to
be available to all VCare users by the end of the
year.
To support the sector wide rollout,
Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission is
developing supporting resources, including online training,
with more information to be shared with the aged care sector
in the next 2-3 months. If any ARC facilities are interested
in implementing DEWS, please contact DEWS@hqsc.govt.nz for
more information.
“This is a New Zealand-made tool
that improves care for older people,” says Turnwald.
“We’re working to making easy to use and accessible to
others.”
© Scoop Media