Further to my previous posts, yesterday saw the launch of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine fact sheet with an event hosted in the Palace of Westminster by myself and the RCEM.
At the launch event, MPs, local stakeholders and RCEM clinicians were able to discuss their various involvement in and experiences of emergency medicine, and how to improve these services.
The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, began by thanking the frontline clinicians as well as the wider NHS for their work. He reiterated that on the back of a strong economy, the NHS will be receiving the extra £8 billion Simon Stephens asked for with regard to the NHS Five Year Forward View. The Secretary of State praised the Five Year Forward View, which I have previously explained.
The President of the RCEM, Dr Clifford Mann, told the audience that the initial idea for the fact sheet came from a conversation between us earlier this year. The 26 facts have been selected to give a clear, concise guide to the current state of emergency departments in England.
To view the fact sheet please click here.
Dr Mann explained that the facts are broken down into patients, staff, departments, flow and finance and reflect the RCEM STEP campaign. The STEP campaign and the fact sheet focus on sustainable staffing models in emergency departments, fair tariffs for hospital, fair contracts for doctors and nurses, and the need to eradicate exit block.
Dr Mann spoke positively about the need to shift towards primary care co-location. A key contributing factor to the pressures on emergency departments today are patients who attend with an urgent care need which could be better seen by a primary care physician. By co-locating these services, these patients would be dealt with in the most efficient, effective manner.
The positive atmosphere at the event led to constructive conversations between MPs, stakeholders and clinicians. I’m looking forward to taking this debate forward as part of the medium-term campaign to improve services in Wycombe.
