Rapid response team (RRT) system is a structure that contains a set of clinical criteria for certain conditions to detect and intervene on any abnormal signs and symptoms that do not meet these criteria by a qualified expert team [1]. To date, as a professional respiratory therapist in Saudi Arabia, one of the most significant challenges for the Ministry of Health is to provide high standards of professional quality without harm. Notable examples of such a challenge are increasing numbers of patients with special care needs and a lack of a comprehensive team able to detect and manage acute symptoms of deteriorating patients before an emergency arises, and that specifically in wards areas. This is exemplified in a Saudi Arabian study conducted by Rehmani et al.[2] showing around 82% of ward patients who had cardiac arrests had deterioration signs in the previous 24 hours. Recently, several papers have been published reporting positive effects after implementations of RRT. Therefore, this article will review the literature in light of recent evidence to determine the implementation effectiveness of RRT system and role of respiratory therapists in improving serious conditions at the appropriate time for patients in hospital wards and decrease number of deaths.
Author(s): Jaber Saud Alqahtani