The Royal College of Emergency Medicine. The membership body representing Emergency Department (A&E) staff and their patients.
#ResuscitateEmergencyCare
📺This video is to raise public awareness of the issues our members and patients face in A&Es every day.
It explains what’s wrong with the Emergency Care system and the solutions outlined in our General Election Manifesto.
Please share and help to
#ResuscitateEmergencyCare
63,653 patients have faced a 12-hour delay in an A&E since October 2021
"To put this in perspective, from August 2010 to September 2021, a period of just over 11 years, a total of 52,181 patients were delayed by 12-hours or more in an Emergency Department."
@RCEMpresident
It is with great sorrow that we confirm the passing of our former President, friend and colleague, Dr Cliff Mann.
Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. He will be missed immensely.
“We're worried that the public think that things are getting back to normal & messages from the centre that say things are OK are disingenuous – the reality is the NHS is really struggling"
@RCEMPresident
on July's worst ever 4hr performance figures:
🚨LEAKED🚨 NHS England data show that long waits are worse than ever imagined. From January-June this year there were 592,000 12-hour waits from time of arrival. Only 120,693 12-hour waits from decision to admit were reported by NHS England
“We urge the public to be careful. The
#NHS
has coped admirably, but staff are exhausted & the system is very fragile. It has never been more important that our EDs are for absolute emergencies only”
@RCEMPresident
urges caution ahead of
#SuperSaturday
Challenging NHS stats out this morning reflecting unprecedented demand for NHS services.
Huge thanks to every member of staff in the NHS who do so much to serve.
New report reveals shocking number of excess deaths caused by crowding in Emergency Depts. last year
A new RCEM report ‘Crowding + its Consequences’ has found that at least 4,519 patients have died as a result of crowding +12 hr stays in Emergency Depts. in England in 2020-2021.
RCEM stands fully with our ACP colleagues who are an invaluable part of the EM workforce. We are RCEM not RCEP. See our statement here:
@EMTAcommittee
@EMSAS_RCEM
@RCEMACPForum
Happy Christmas Eve🎄. Thank you to all those working so hard in Emergency Departments this evening and overnight; missing time with friends and loved ones. We appreciate all that you do.
#Christmas
#EmergencyDepartments
#NHS
The results of the
#RCEMElection
are in and we're delighted to announce that
@KatherineRCEM
will be the next
@RCEMPresident
. Congratulations to Katherine and thank you to our two other candidates for running.
On Tuesday 28 April at 11am there will be a minutes silence to pay respect and give thanks for the lives of our key workers whose work involves saving lives, keeping services running and the rest of the country safe. Please join us.
#NeverForgotten
#IWMD20
#COVID19
🚨NEW
#SAFETYFLASH
🚨Time Critical Medication (TCM): The Safer Care Committee has highlighted that a MISSED dose can harm your patients.
Credit to
@UKCPA
for poster production - available at:
For more ℹ️
"We are blithely sailing towards an iceberg, and it would be morally wrong for us not to raise our concerns now while there is still time to make a difference."
Read
@RCEMpresident
's powerful piece in the
@Independent
.
#NHS
#EmergencyMedicine
🚨We have published a new statement with
@RCRadiologists
on 'Emergency Computed Tomography scans and the use of Intravenous Iodinated Contrast Agents'
See the joint statement and recommendations here:
We are thinking of
#India
and the incredibly scary and challenging time it is facing. We send our wholehearted support to our EM and medical colleagues there. Our thoughts are with them and the people. Please be sensitive to your friends and colleagues who may have family there.
Yesterday we asked MPs to consider overcrowding in EDs before casting their vote on the
#TierSystem
tonight. THIS is the reality across the country 👇 Empty hospitals do not have long ambulance queues like this, waiting to offload patients.
“The dissatisfaction the public feel with A&E is understandable, EM staff are also wholly dissatisfied & tired of being unable to deliver the high-quality effective care they are trained to provide because of the lack of beds & staff in EDs, & the indifference shown by the Gov."
"there's a serious emergency in emergency care that is putting lives at risk...Waits for admission beyond 5 hrs increase the chances of a patient dying...since October there has now been over 100,000 12hr delays across the 40 UK sites participating in the project."
@RCEMpresident
"EDs could become hotbeds of coronavirus transmission without proper measures to enforce social distancing; to do that we will need to physically redesign and rebuild many departments"
@RCEMPresident
&
@RCollEM
call on MPs to help reset Emergency Care:
Today we're launching ‘Improving safety in the Emergency Department this winter’: our guide to the actions health service leaders and boards can take to help their systems maintain safety and improve performance over winter. Find out more at
“So Mr Stevens, who are these doctors with such contempt for the patient interest?” An open letter from our Patient and Lay Group Chair
@DerekDPrentice
to
@NHSEngland
Chief Exec Simon Stevens regarding the 4hr target:
The College is launching 'RespectED' an anti-bullying campaign that aims to raise awareness and tackle the rise in toxic behaviours such as bullying, harassment and incivility between staff in Emergency Departments.
“Going back to how we used to operate is not an option – patients will die if we do."
@RCEMPresident
on our latest position statement ‘
#COVID19
: Resetting Emergency Department Care’
1/19 NEW ANALYSIS🚨: RCEM's very first acute insight series is now live! Today's analysis -carried out by
@RCEMPolicyVP
& Kelly Sarsfield from the Policy Team- examines why we've witnessed a surge in ED attendances and admissions over recent months.
Sadly, this will be an all too familiar picture for all our members working in A&Es across the UK. Emergency care is under immense pressure. Patients face long & distressing delays, while staff work tirelessly to keep them safe & deliver effective care.
It’s
#NationalDoctorsDay
.
To all our Doctor members - you are extraordinary.
You do extraordinary things every day and you are so valued.
Thank you.
💜
“I trained in emergency medicine to treat sick patients. I’m mostly now a risk manager, my experience enabling me to judge which patient is safest to put into the inappropriate places around my overcrowded and understaffed department.”
A huge congratulations to
@RCEMpresident
, who has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to Emergency Medicine during the pandemic.
Happy birthday to The Princess Royal, our Royal Patron! 🎉
From our members and staff across the College, we send Her Royal Highness Princess Anne our best wishes today and our sincere thanks for her ongoing support of The Royal College and the Emergency Medicine specialty.
We are pleased to announce that Olivia Wilson has been elected as Chair of our new Advanced Clinical Practitioner Forum! Congratulations to
@bealnamulla1
👏 and thank you to all our other
#ACP
nominees for standing.
Crowding in A&Es is affecting tens of thousands of staff and patients every day
@RCEM_VP
We have updated our Emergency Department Crowding Guidance to support Emergency Medicine clinicians and their patients during this crisis.
▶️Full details:
As EDs become overwhelmed, patient safety is put at risk
“We are in real trouble; the College has warned for months about the urgent need for a safe management of the exit from the pandemic. We desperately need action and leadership."
@RCEMpresident
We are delighted to announce Dr
@KirstyChallen
has been appointed Chair of our new Women in Emergency Medicine Special Interest Group 🎉
The College is pleased to welcome Dr Challen and wishes her every success in her new role!
@Medic_Russell
Please send all suggestions for future RCEM merchandise to jennifer.barley
@rcem
.ac.uk
Please also ensure that RCEM hoodies are washed at 30 degrees in a conventional washing machine rather than in a canal.
As attendances at EDs continue to rise, we’re beginning to see a return to crowding. Read our latest guidance on what to do if your ED is becoming crowded again after the initial COVID period here:
RCEM calls for an increase in staffing after survey finds 3 in 5 A&E staff have experienced burnout
"Demand for urgent and emergency care has increased significantly over the past few years, but the workforce has not grown adequately to keep up with this demand."
@RCEMpresident
On Tuesday 28 April at 11am there will be a minutes silence to pay respect and give thanks for the lives of our key workers whose work involves saving lives, keeping services running and the rest of the country safe. Please join us.
#NeverForgotten
#IWMD20
#COVID19
Please see our guidance and pathways for vaccine concerns for Emergency Departments and Acute Medicine. Thanks to
@acutemedicine
@RCPLondon
and
@RCRadiologists
for their collaboration. We hope this will help clinicians identify any potential risks.
Thank you to all the wonderful Emergency Medicine Nurses, Advanced Care Practitioners and to nursing staff everywhere. Thank you for the continuous hard work, commitment and dedication. We salute you💙
#NursesDay
We’re delighted to announce the appointments of Dr Ian Higginson, Dr Jason Long, Dr Salwa Malik, and Dr Maya Naravi to roles of Vice President, with each taking up their post from 4 October. Congratulations to them all!
We need to act now to protect the most vulnerable, and precious part of the healthcare system, the Emergency Medical System.
It’s time for change and to reset emergency care.
#NoMoreLivesLostWaiting
#ResetEmergencyCare
Heartbreaking to read.
This is NOT your fault.
And the response comments show how truly valued our amazing members & their EM colleagues are - doing extraordinary work in the most challenging situations to ensure patients get the best care possible
#ResuscitateEmergencyCare
As an Emergency Medicine consultant in the NHS, I just want to say, to all of our patients across the UK:
I'm sorry.
We're really trying, I promise.
There's just too much to do.
And there are not enough resources in the hospitals or in our communities to satisfy demand.
“We can’t have people having to social distance at Tesco but in the ED waiting room being packed up against people because there is nowhere to sit.”
@RCEMPresident
in
@HSJnews
about the importance of preventing ED overcrowding in the fight against
#COVID19
"The four hour target is an incredibly sophisticatd metric but there must be proper hospital wide ownership of it for it to work as it should."
@RCEMpresident
defends the 4hr target at
#EuSEM18
We have joined over 100 global healthcare organisations including
@FSRH_uk
,
@FIGOHQ
and
@ACOG
in condemning the decision by the US Supreme Court. Find out more:
View the joint statement:
#RoeVsWade
The most effective solutions to Emergency Department crowding and ambulance handover delays are outside the Emergency Department - this is a whole-system problem that requires a whole-system response and solution.
“I don’t think the public understand that capacity in the NHS is dropping dramatically.... People know they need to queue outside Tesco & M&S. Are they going to cope with the concept of queuing outside the ED?”
@RCEMpresident
spoke to
@ObserverUK
Our President Dr Katherine Henderson
@RCEMpresident
is the first female President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, a historic achievement. We will be posting a profile about Dr Henderson today as well.
#IWD2021
#InternationalWomensDay
Our
#hospitals
are not empty, they are dangerously overcrowded + currently operating at maximum capacity. We've written to MPs to consider this before they cast their vote in
#parliament
tomorrow on the
#tier
system.
#NHS
#emergencymedicine
"Scrapping the 4 hour target will have a near catastrophic impact on patient safety in many EDs that are already struggling to deliver safe patient care in a wider system that is failing badly."
@RCEMpresident
on comments from
@NHSEngland
Chief Exec:
Happy International Nurses Day
#IND2021
#InternationalNursesDay
. Thank you to Emergency Medicine nurses, and to all nurses, around the world. Your hard work, resilience and compassion each and every day is invaluable. RCEM is proud to have dedicated EM nursing colleagues!
Crowding kills. ED crowding was not acceptable before COVID, and it is even more dangerous in the presence of COVID. Read our guide on what to do to reduce crowding here:
"When the health service is overwhelmed, it does not cease to function, it is the standards and quality of care that fall. The figures published today show the extent to which these standards have fallen already."
@RCEMpresident
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine supports the continued use of the four-hour access standard as a high-level metric to monitor emergency care system performance. Full Press Release here:
We're deeply saddened by the loss of Mr Manjeet Riyat, a colleague and consultant at
@UHDBTrust
. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
Our Vice President Dr Lisa Munro-Davies pays tribute to him here:
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that we've lost a colleague. Mr Manjeet Singh Riyat was a hugely respected Emergency Consultant at Royal Derby Hospital
.
@clojo1989
we’re very sorry about the way we've handled this. This is clearly an exceptional circumstance & we will email you shortly to make the necessary arrangements to defer. We’ll also review the process with our team to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
Emailed
@RCollEM
to ask about deferring exam as unable to leave breastfed bottle-refusing daughter for the duration, declined as not exceptional circumstances. Thats fine...waiting to hear what provisions will be in place for me to feed her during the exam.
@RCEMpresident
“Sadly the situation afflicting EDs has become seemingly normalised with a 'chronic crisis mode' that doesn't allow staff to deliver the quality of care they would wish & patients rightly expect"
@RCEMpresident
on the latest worst ever performance stats:
Let’s shine a light on the fantastic work being done in our A&E departments by our
#Frontlineworkers
that work round-the-clock to provide urgent and emergency care – retweet and share your story & experience of care at A&E 🤗.
#RCEMFoundation
The College is delighted and excited to announce that
@themattmak
has been confirmed as the College's new CPD Director.
He will pick-up from
@EMManchester
and lead the way in shaping, innovating and improving the College's CPD outputs over the next three years.
Wishing all our membership a happy Emergency Medicine Day
#EMDay2021
@EuropSocEM
. Today is a global celebration of the EM specialty. Thank you to all our membership and all EM staff for your dedication and hard work.
Hospitals are full, Emergency Departments are full, ambulances are queuing outside. This is dangerous for patients and delays paramedics returning to the community + responding to emergency calls. There must be action taken to increase capacity and maintain flow.
#crowding
#NHS
BREAKING: 10 ambulances reported to be queuing outside Southend Hospital this afternoon unable to offload their patients because A&E is extremely busy - sources on the ground tell
@BBCEssex
.
We have asked Southend hospital to respond.
RCEM: ‘It is absolutely essential that masks are worn by everyone in A&Es’
“Emergency Departments regularly see vulnerable patients. We must do all we can to keep those patients safe..."
@RCEMpresident
We’re pleased to see new PPE guidance released today by Public Health England. It is essential that healthcare workers are protected so they can treat patients with confidence.
Read full guidance 👉
“Our emergency departments are not just under pressure, but in a state of emergency. This is not just business as usual and these figures make clear the scale of the situation." Our response to today's performance figures.
SAFETY FLASH: Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental health illnesses. Be aware of these red flags and risk of sudden death.
#safety
@rcpsych
A&E staff 👨⚕️👩⚕️ provide emergency care at any time, day or night . This Christmas we want to celebrate these
#frontlineworkers
by sharing stories of the amazing care, compassion +dedication patients have experienced in A&E.
Retweet so we can hear some stories 🥰
#RCEMFoundation
Today we're celebrating our Advanced Clinical Practitioners! 🎉 Thank you for all the hard work you do and what you bring to the specialty. Here's
@RCEMACPChair
on
#EMACPday
#AdvPracWeek20
We’re pleased to announce the regional representatives for our
#ACP
Forum
Wales, Kevin Randall
Scotland, Karen Johnstone
NI, Ronald Kernaghan
East, Daniel Buxton
North, Amy Cawthorne
West, Ashleigh Lowther
London, Sarah Davies
Congratulations to all!
The College has published new guidance on 'Suspected Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome in Emergency Departments', bridging the gap between evidence and the need for clinicians to provide quality care and advice:
One solution is for the UK Government to open enough staffed beds so that hospitals run at no more than 85% occupancy. This will ensure that there is enough capacity for patients to flow throughout the hospital system, reducing the strain on our patients and healthcare system.
RCEM welcomes NHS commitment to measure 12-hour waits from time of arrival in A&E
"We expect NHS England to publish this data in full on a monthly basis; we see no reason why this should not be feasible from the start of the new financial year."
@RCEMpresident
The College notes that there has been some confusion over which advice to follow regarding PPE for CPR. We continue to support the Resus Council guidelines and advise
members to follow these.
Read full position statement 👉
Shocking data today as 12-hour waits reach record high.
“We do not have the virus under control. The situation is far worse than April 2019...Our NHS is now at a tipping point and if it tips, we will not be able to stop it."
@RCEMpresident
Our thoughts go out to all involved in the major incident at London Bridge, including those working in the Emergency Departments who received causalities.
🚨NEW
#SAFETYFLASH
📷Cortico-Steroid Dependency: The Safer Care Committee has highlighted the importance of identifying patients on steroid therapy and advise on the emergency treatment of Adrenal Crisis!
For poster production head here:
"If we haven’t got the beds & staff to deal with the demand we face, and the ability to care for our patients in our departments rather than in corridors, or tents and ambulances in the carparks, then all we will be doing is predicting our failure with greater clarity.”
@RCEM_VP
We are pleased to announce we're providing no cost 12-month membership subscriptions for members on new parents' leave.
We hope this will go some way to easing the financial pressures people can experience after becoming parents.
More details here⬇️