Evidence suggests that improvements in clinical practice are required to ensure that deteriorating patients are rapidly identified and assessed in a systematic manner. The important step of escalating care involves a detailed handover to the most appropriate colleague so that interventions can be put in place to reverse or optimise the patient’s condition. However, multiple issues can hinder this handover process, including a lack of confidence among nurses and suboptimal team dynamics or cultures. Using structured communication tools such as situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) can assist nurses in delivering a handover that results in the desired outcome. This article explains the steps involved in identifying, assessing and escalating the care of deteriorating patients, and describes the components of an effective handover.