Implications for practice and research

• Sole reliance on the use of vital signs assessment may direct nurses’ attention in detecting late stages of clinical deterioration.

• The importance of performing in-depth physical assessment to detect early signs of clinical deterioration needs to be highlighted to nurses.

• Further research to examine nurses’ utilisation of physical assessment skills with existing track and trigger models is warranted.

Context

Existing track and trigger models that improve early recognition and response to patient deterioration are based on the recognition of vital signs derangement to trigger a medical response.1 This causes …