In July 2020, HSIB published thier National Intelligence Report: Early warning scores to detect deterioration in Covid-19 inpatients, whihc states that:
"In response to Covid-19, HSIB received a referral highlighting that a number of NHS trusts were using early warning scores for risk-stratification on admission, and to detect clinical deterioration when a patient was admitted to a general ward with suspected or confirmed Covid-19. The referral suggested an over reliance on early warning scores, which were being used in isolation from other indicators of deterioration.
It has been found that the utility of early warning systems is dependent on experienced nursing staff using clinical judgement to recognise patient deterioration, and the score being a way of empowering calls for help. Factors such as ward culture, workload and staffing have a significant impact on the utility of early warning scoring systems."