Table 3.

Thematic analysis of structured interview responses from the prospective data collection phase. All patients experienced a missed RRS call with an adverse clinical event

Characteristics of interviewees	Frequency of responses (n=83), n (%)
Junior ward nurse	28 (33.7)
Senior ward nurse	16 (19.3)
Junior doctor (intern/resident)	16 (19.3)
Senior doctor (registrar/consultant)	13 (15.7)
Other (eg ICU outreach nurse)	18 (21.7)
Actions performed prior to activating RRS
Awaited further review or response by medical staff	43 (51.8)
Specific treatment or investigations delaying RRS activation	42 (50.6)
Involved ICU outreach or requested ICU review	28 (33.7)
Involved senior nursing staff	10 (12.0)
Explanation as to why RRS was not activated
Felt the situation was under control in the ward setting	45 (54.2)
ICU team already involved but no ICU bed was available	25 (30.1)
Team involved were experienced in this type of patient and felt RRS activation was not required	14 (16.9)
Poor communication/prioritisation by medical team	13 (15.7)
Additional skills were not required to manage the patient	8 (9.6)
No further clinical observations had been taken	6 (7.2)
Altered thresholds for RRS activation but not documented	4 (4.8)
Thought they were too junior to activate RRS	1 (1.2)

ICU, intensive care unit.