Involving patients in recognising clinical deterioration in hospital using the Patient Wellness Questionnaire: A mixed-methods study

Measures exist to improve early recognition of, and response to deteriorating patients in hospital. Despite these, 7% of the deaths reported to the National Reporting and Learning System from acute hospitals in 2015 related to a failure to recognise or respond to deterioration. Interventions have been developed that allow patients and relatives to escalate patient deterioration to a critical care outreach team. However, there is not a strong evidence base for the clinical effectiveness of these interventions, or patients' ability to recognise deterioration.

The aims of this study were as follows. (a) To identify methods of involving patients in recognising deterioration in hospital, generated by health professionals. (b) To develop and evaluate an identified method of patient involvement in practice, and explore its feasibility and acceptability from the perspectives of patients.

The study used a mixed-methods design. A measure to capture patient-reported wellness during observation was developed (Patient Wellness Questionnaire) through focus group discussion with health professionals and patients, and piloted on inpatient wards.

There was limited uptake where patients were asked to record ratings of their wellness using the Patient Wellness Questionnaire themselves. However, where the researcher asked patients about their wellness using the Patient Wellness Questionnaire and recorded their responses during observation, this was acceptable to most patients.

This study has developed a measure that can be used to routinely collect patient-reported wellness during observation in hospital and may potentially improve early detection of deterioration.