Acute Medicine

NEWS2 (National Early Warning Score 2)

Standardised UK early-warning score for acute illness.

Education and reference only. Not a substitute for clinical judgement, local policy or product labelling. Always verify before clinical use. Values are calculated in your browser and never stored.

When to use

Use to detect and respond to acute clinical deterioration in adults (not pregnant). Widely mandated across the NHS.

Why use

It standardises detection of deterioration and triggers a graded clinical response.

Advice

Aggregate 5–6 (or 3 in any single parameter) triggers an urgent review; ≥7 triggers an emergency response. Always follow your local NEWS2 escalation policy.

Critical actions

Use SpO₂ scale 2 only for patients with target range 88–92% (e.g. hypercapnic respiratory failure) — this tool uses scale 1.

Evidence & references

  1. Royal College of Physicians. National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2. 2017.

About the creator

Royal College of Physicians

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