R30 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Fluid balance monitoring

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that where patients require fluid monitoring as part of their critical care, nursing staff complete fluid balance charts as accurately as possible.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Scottish Government, this recommendation was accepted, referencing professional standards for record-keeping, particularly the revised NMC code, which mandates clear, accurate, and timely documentation of critical care elements such as fluid balance. According to Healthcare Improvement Scotland's Excellence in Care CAIR Dashboard, fluid balance chart completion is monitored as part of fundamentals of care metrics across all NHS Scotland boards; furthermore, according to the available evidence, no further published evidence has been identified since 2025.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 4.2 of the Scottish Government's response addresses this through professional standards for record-keeping. The revised NMC code, which nurses must follow, provides specific guidance requiring clear and accurate records to be maintained. Nurses must complete all records at the time or as soon as possible after an event, ensuring all information needed by colleagues is present. This includes signing, dating, and timing their entries to ensure accurate documentation of critical care elements like fluid balance.

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Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Good Progress
01 Jan 2025
Healthcare Improvement Scotland Other

Excellence in Care CAIR Dashboard monitors fluid balance chart completion as part of fundamentals of care metrics across all NHS Scotland boards.

View detailed findings

Fluid balance monitoring is one of the ratified CAIR measures tracked nationally.

CAIR Dashboard, Public Health Scotland View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS Health Boards (Scotland) Primary
Themes & Tags
Care plan failures Inaccurate and inaccessible patient records Records Nursing
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3932 days ago