Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- 111 urgent advice service
- The free national telephone and online service that gives urgent medical advice when a situation is not life-threatening.
- ABCDE assessment
- A structured way of checking a sick patient in order of priority: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability and Exposure.
- Adverse event
- Any unexpected or unwanted occurrence linked to a treatment that harms, or could harm, a patient.
- Anaphylaxis
- A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction needing immediate emergency treatment.
- AVPU
- A quick scale for level of consciousness: Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, or Unresponsive.
- Capillary refill
- A bedside check of blood flow, done by pressing the skin and timing how quickly the colour returns.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chemotherapy
- Drug treatment for cancer that can weaken the body's ability to fight infection.
- Cyanosis
- A bluish colour of the skin, lips or tongue caused by too little oxygen in the blood.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sets out how personal information, including health records, must be handled and kept secure.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the UK and sets the standards they must follow.
- Good medical practice
- The General Medical Council's core guidance setting out the standards of care and behaviour expected of doctors.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that registered care providers must meet.
- Immunocompromise
- A weakened immune system that makes a person more likely to catch infections and become seriously ill.
- Index of suspicion
- How alert a clinician stays to the possibility of a condition so it is not missed.
- Intravenous (IV)
- Given directly into a vein, such as fluids or medicines delivered through a drip.
- Mottling
- A blotchy, patchy discolouration of the skin that can be a sign of poor circulation in a seriously ill patient.
- National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2)
- A standard scoring system that combines a patient's vital signs to flag how unwell they are and how urgently they need help.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The national body that produces evidence-based guidance on treatments and care.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Neutropenia
- A low level of a type of white blood cell, which leaves a person much more vulnerable to serious infection.
- NEWS2 parameter
- One of the individual vital-sign measurements, such as pulse or breathing rate, that make up a NEWS2 score.
- Non-blanching rash
- A rash that does not fade when pressed, which can be a warning sign of serious infection such as meningitis or sepsis.
- Non-rebreathe mask
- An oxygen mask with a reservoir bag that delivers a high concentration of oxygen to a very unwell patient.
- Oxygen saturation (SpO2)
- The percentage of oxygen carried in the blood, measured painlessly with a clip on the finger.
- Patent airway
- An airway that is open and clear, so the patient can breathe freely.
- Peripheries
- The parts of the body furthest from the heart, such as the hands and feet.
- Pulse oximeter
- A small device clipped to a finger that measures the oxygen level in the blood and the pulse rate.
- Records Management Code of Practice
- National guidance setting out how long health and care records should be kept and how they should be managed.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Risk stratification
- Sorting patients into levels of risk, such as high, intermediate or low, to decide how urgently they need care.
- Royal College of Physicians
- The professional body for hospital doctors that publishes clinical standards, including the National Early Warning Score 2.
- Safety-netting
- Clear advice to a patient or carer on what warning signs to watch for and exactly what to do if things get worse.
- SBAR
- A standard way of handing over a patient clearly and quickly: Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation.
- Sepsis
- A life-threatening reaction to an infection in which the body's response begins to injure its own tissues and organs.
- Significant event analysis
- A structured team review of an incident or notable case to understand what happened and learn from it.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written set of step-by-step instructions describing how a particular task or process should be carried out consistently.
- Systolic blood pressure
- The higher of the two blood-pressure numbers, measuring the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.
- Traffic-light system
- A NICE tool that sorts a feverish child's symptoms into green (low risk), amber (intermediate) or red (high risk).
- Triage
- Quickly sorting patients by how urgently they need to be seen, so the sickest are dealt with first.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.