Latest News



 

Follow the CEM President on Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: THE COLLEGE HAS MOVED TO NEW PREMISES:

7-9 Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, EC4A 1DT

Find us on Googlemaps

 

JANUARY 2012

ICEM Conference in Dublin, 27-30 June - Registration and abstract submission is open (9 Jan 2012)

New Year Appeal towards fitting out of 7-9 Bream’s Buildings (5 Jan 2012)

 

DECEMBER 2011

CEM e-newsletter to Fellows and Members - download latest issue (22 Dec 2011)

Emergency Medicine Operational Handbook (The Way Ahead) (20 Dec 2011) - The latest issue of the Way Ahead is now available. This guidance is for clinicians, managers and commissioners involved in the delivery of Emergency Medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. 

CEM Safer Care Newsletter - download latest issue (16 Dec 2011)

CQC quick guide to whistleblowing - raising concerns about your work (15 Dec 2011) - this quick guide has been written for health and care professionals that need to raise a concern about their workplace. It gives you helpful advice on speaking out about poor care and what protection you will have from the law if you do.
http://www.cqc.org.uk/public/news/quick-guide-raising-concern-about-your-work

GMC Fitness to Practise conference - Responding effectively to concerns about doctors (Friday 9 December, Church House Conference Centre, Dean's Yard, London SW1P 3NZ) - At this conference, the GMC will:

  • Explain the changes being made to GMC processes following an investigation.
  • Ask how the GMC can maintain transparency if a doctor accepts a sanction without a hearing.
  • Talk about how the new Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service might change the way that hearings are run. 
  • Consider how to balance the needs of sick doctors against GMC responsibility to protect patients.

View the programme and register: https://registration.livegroup.co.uk/fitnesstopractise/

Breaking the mould without breaking the system: new ideas and resources for clinical commissioners on the journey towards integrated 24/7 urgent care (1 Dec 2011) - This report has been published by the Primary Care Foundation in partnership with the NHS Alliance. This resource is designed to offer ideas and inspiration to everyone responsible for commissioning urgent and emergency care in the UK, in particular, the new clinical commissioning groups in England.

 

NOVEMBER 2011

International Dimensions of Emergency Medicine Work - This event is for those interested in undertaking EM work internationally.

Friday 24 February 2012 (0945-1700). Download the flyer for details and programme

CEM Fellows & Members can register here (log in, then select 'View/book an event', then 'new bookings')

New local guidelines available (29 Nov 2011) - The ED team at Newham University Hospital has kindly shared a number of protocols which are available for others to download from the local guidelines section. http://www.collemergencymed.ac.uk/Shop-Floor/Clinical Guidelines/Local Guidelines

ED design toolkit (29 Nov 2011) - The Design Council has published a toolkit for NHS managers, clinicians and designer and healthcare planners who want to develop and deliver a better service in effective and inspiring environments. It will help you understand how to use design to develop integrated QIPP plans and improve performance against ED clinical quality indicators http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/AEtoolkit/ 

Substance Misuse Detainees in Police Custody: Guidelines for Clinical Management (4th edn) (28 Nov 2011) - The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published updated guidance on the acceptable minimum standards for the assessment of drug- and alcohol-dependent individuals and treatment interventions for forensic physicians. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/collegereports/cr/cr169.aspx

See related guidance in our Police liaison section

CRASH 2 trial published in Lancet (28 Nov 2011) - Results of the CRASH-2 study shows that tranexamic acid should be given as early as possible to bleeding trauma patients. The College and Department of Health urge Emergency Departments to translate the results into clinical practice.

Download letter to the specialty from K Willett and M Cooke

Download the CRASH-2 results from the Lancet: http://www.lancet.com/crash-2

CEM Patient Safety Award (21 Nov 2011) - CEM wishes to celebrate and publicise those initiatives within the Emergency medicine community that have made a significant contribution to patient safety.

The CEM Patient Safety Award will be awarded annually to an individual or hospital team that can demonstrate evidence of improved patient safety as a direct result of an innovation within their Emergency Department. 

Shortlisted teams will be invited to present their work at a patient safety session held at the autumn CEM conference, starting in 2013.  

The Role of Emergency Medicine in Organ Donation: Report of a Workshop held on 4 October 2011 - This document reports on a workshop held between representatives of Emergency Medicine, critical care, Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation and transplantation surgery. The report makes several recommendations on the role of EDs.

New online self management support resource centre (21 Nov 2011) - The Health Foundation has launched a new online self management support resource centre. The resource centre provides information and practical tools that can be adopted and adapted locally to enable services and health professionals to develop their own self management support programmes.

It builds on learning from the Health Foundation’s Co-creating Health programme and a wide range of national and international evidence. It’s a good starting point to learn more about what self management support is, how it can be implemented and the business case for commissioning.

Find out more by visiting www.health.org.uk/sms

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week starts 21 November 2011 - Approximately 4,000 people attending EDs each year are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Visit www.covictim.org for resources and event details publicising awareness of CO poisioning.

Download the latest press release and visit this news article which highlights what the campaign is trying to prevent.

Interested in Medical Leadership? (11 Nov 2011) - Membership of the newly established Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management is now open to all doctors, secondary-care dentists, and medical students.

The Faculty has been set up to bring doctors together for support around leadership and management issues and to advocate the importance of these skills within and beyond the profession.

Benefits of membership include access to an annual national conference, online resources and the chance to get involved in shaping the future of healthcare. For more information about the Faculty and membership, visit www.fmlm.ac.uk/membership

How can design reduce violence and aggression in Emergency Departments? - Join a series of live webinars on Friday 18 November and learn from designers and researchers who’ve developed new solutions that improve the patient experience and help reduce violence and aggression in EDs.
 
10.00-11.00: The design process
Presented by Design Associates Colum Lowe and Neal Stone
 
12.00-13.00: Insights on violence and aggression in A&E
Presented by ethnographic researchers Becky Rowe and Martin Bontoft
 
14.00-15.00: Generating design solutions tailored to your A&E
Presented by the Reducing violence and aggression in A&E design team
 
A year long project run by the Design Council and commissioned by the Department of Health asked designers to design new systems and services that could help make the experience of visiting EDs less stressful and frustrating.
 
These webinars will give you a chance to find out why design is a process that can help shape patient-centered and cost-effective services and environments. Register now for these free webinars

Establish SEPSIS as a medical emergency and a clinical priority for the NHS (2 Nov 2011) - Sepsis is a hidden killer. It claims 37,000 U.K lives annually- more than breast, bowel and prostate cancers combined. The majority of cases arise in the community. Simple, timely interventions including antibiotics and intravenous fluids can halve the risk of dying, yet are delivered in fewer than 1 in 7 cases in the U.K at present. Early sepsis treatment is cost effective, reducing hospital and Critical Care bed days for patients. Establishing sepsis as a medical emergency and a clinical priority for the NHS is likely to save at least 10,000 extra lives per year, and yield annual savings to the NHS of over £170M. Please support this initiative by signing an online e-petition at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/19602

 

OCTOBER 2011

Providing pre-transfusion blood samples for police - CEM position statement (24 Oct 2011)

Introducing NHS 111 (19 Oct 2011) - Download an introductory leaflet for details of the new service

Healthy Working UK website (19 Oct 2011)- This site provides access to information, guidance and training on the management of health and work and can be found at www.healthyworkinguk.co.uk

Download the latest Press Release from the Summary Care Record and Healthspace Programme (13 Oct 2011) - which details how several organisations representing patients with various Long Term Conditions are advocating that their members request that their GPs put additional information onto their SCRs, which will be of value to clinicians treating them in an emergency.  This advice is being endorsed by Health Minister, Simon Burns and by NHS Medical Director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh.

CEM Job Vacancy - Conference & Events Organiser (7 Oct 2011)

CEM Job Vacancy - Finance Manager (6 Oct 2011)

Latest issue of NPSA Signals (5 Oct 2011) - Emerging issues from national review of serious patient safety incidents http://www.nrls.npsa.nhs.uk/resources/type/signals/

Chemical Hazards and Poisons Report: Issue 20 (3 Oct 2011) - Articles of particular interest to emergency medicine practitioners include the COMEAP UK Air Quality Index, The Global Lead Challenge and Thunderstorm asthma. http://www.hpa.org.uk/chemicals/reports

Helping to reduce prescribing errors by developing standards for the design of hospital in-patient prescription charts (3 Oct 2011)

Refurbishment work at Breams Buildings gets underway

(3 Oct 2011)

Refurbishment work at the new College headquarters is underway. Partitions are being removed and preparations are being made for the refurbishment of the heating and ventilation system.  The refurbishment of the lift has been commissioned.  The works are two weeks into the programme now and so far are on target.  The estimated completion date is projected to be the middle of January.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2011

Chair sought for new tribunal service for doctors (28 Sept 2011) - The GMC has launched a major recruitment campaign to find the Chair for a new tribunal service that will manage all fitness to practise hearings for doctors.

The establishment of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) is a key part of the GMC's plans to develop a modern and efficient adjudication service that has the confidence of both doctors and patients.

The tribunal service will be operationally separate from the rest of the GMC in order to create a clear distinction between the GMC's roles in bringing proceedings against doctors and in running hearings. To find out more visit: http://www.gmc-uk.org/news/10559.asp

Protocols for discharge into police custody and when to contact police if patients abscond from the ED (26 Sept 2011)

Latest CEM e-newsletter (16 Sept 2011)

Security in the ED (15 Sept 2011) - Find out more about the work of NHS Protect, which provides support and direction in matters relating to NHS security management

New local guidelines (15 Sept 2011) - New protocols  for CDU care have been added, including a comprehensive procedural sedation guide and audit tool. In this section you can share discharge advice, local guidelines and proformas with other EDs, who are welcome to download and adapt them for local use.

NPSA releases Organisation Patient Safety Incident reporting data (England) (13 Sept 2011) - The number of patient safety incidents in England that occurred between 1 October 2010 and 31 March 2011 and were submitted to the NPSA by 31 May 2011 was 565,153, an increase of 8.5 per cent compared to the previous reporting period (1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.)

Migration Advisory Committee report: Revised shortage occupation list includes EM Consultants and Middle-Grades (12 Sept 2011)http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2011/september/32-mac-revised

Need to find a clinical guideline? (9 Sept 2011) - The external guidelines page has been revised to make it easier for you to find clinical guidelines by topic. Click on the link above to go to this page

Take part in the Living well with dementia challenge (8 Sept 2011)  - One in three of us who live to 65 will have some form of dementia before we die. The Design Council and the Department of Health want you to rethink life with dementia. A million people in the UK will be living with the condition by 2021. Take part in the Living well with dementia challenge

You give: time + your team + your ideas
You get: a slice of £360,000K + professional support

Design Council challenges are an opportunity to use your skills in a new area, whilst making a real difference to people’s lives.
Interested? Find out more and meet potential partners at www.designchallenges.ning.com

CfWI publication: Shape of the Medical Workforce; Informing Medical Training Numbers (2 Sept 2011) - The purpose of this report is to provide information that will help commissioners, providers and others to plan the number and type of training places for medical specialists for 2012 and beyond.

RCPCH Publication ‘The Physical Signs of Child Sexual Abuse’ (2 Sept 2011) - the RCPCH has been working on updating the above publication to ensure it reflects the best available evidence. The initial update, involving repeating the literature search, is now complete and you can view an interim statement summarising the findings.

Provisional Accident & Emergency Quality Indicators for England. Experimental Statistics by provider for April 2011 (1 Sept 2011) EXTERNAL LINK

Summary Care Record (1 Sept 2011) - visit this page for a summary of progress on the introduction of summary care records and their impact on Emergency Departments in England.

 

AUGUST 2011

AGM 2011 - The 2011 Annual General Meeting of the College will be held 22nd September 2011 (9.00am – 10.00am) at the CEM Conference being held at The Sage Gateshead, St Mary’s Square, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 2JR

NHS Leadership Framework (24th August 2011) - the NHS Leadership Framework was launched on the 29th June 2011. It provides a consistent approach to leadership development for staff in health and care irrespective of discipline, role or function (clinical and non-clinical), and represents the foundation of leadership behaviour throughout the NHS. Full details of the Framework can be found at www.nhsleadership.org

Are you interested in working overseas? Put 24th February 2012 in your diary for this College event: International Dimensions of Emergency Medicine Work. This event will be held in London and will explore the many aspects of international EM. Details to follow.

Presentation on the Quality Indicators from the Emergency Care Intensive Support Team (23rd August 2011) - this is being used in presentations to Acute and Foundation Trusts, PCTs and commissioning groups. Please note this replaces the previous versions posted in May and March.

Delivering the five A&E clinical quality indicators in Foundation Trusts (23rd August 2011) - An extract from Monitor's latest monthly bulletin to FTs.

Courses of interest (22nd August 2011) - Find courses of interest to Emergency Medicine doctors taking place throughout the UK

National Recruitment to Intensive Care Medicine in August 2012 (19th August 2011) - Joint statement by the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine and the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans, August 16 2011

Guidance for commissioning integrated urgent and emergency care – A ‘whole system’ approach (19th August 2011) - The RCGP Centre for Commissioning has published guidance for commissioners setting out what must be addressed through clinical commissioners’ strategic planning, and includes practical examples of how services can be redesigned.

Written by Dr Agnelo Fernandes, one of the Centre’s National Clinical Commissioning Champions and RCGP lead for urgent care, this publication outlines the requirements for good urgent and emergency care.

John Heyworth,  President of The College of Emergency Medicine, welcomes this paper:

'The College of Emergency Medicine welcomes this important guidance. The axis between commissioners and the Emergency Department is fundamental. Urgent and emergency care must be an absolute priority on the commissioning agenda, with active involvement of the local Emergency Medicine clinical lead to ensure discussions are optimally informed. Better access to primary care for extended periods throughout the week combined with a truly joined up ED / urgent care facility, with common training and governance, will ensure a simpler, cohesive system with clinical and cost benefits, providing consistent high quality safe patient care 24 / 7. Tariffs must drive improvements in the ED , particularly much more EM Consultant and senior clinician provided care recognising the challenges of the casemix of the majority of patients attending. For the public, urgent and emergency care is the shop window of the NHS - we must deliver the care they expect and deserve.'

CEM Press Statement - Waiting times in EDs (15th August 2011) - Following the publication of data from the Department of Health that suggests that the number of people waiting more than four hours in Emergency Departments in England has nearly doubled in the past year, the College of Emergency Medicine has issued the following quote:

“Relaxation of the 4 hour target to 95% of Emergency Department patients being treated and admitted or discharged within four hours was supported by The College of Emergency Medicine as strict adherence to the previous target (98%) was distorting patient care and placing clinicians under immense pressure. 

Whilst today’s figures do show that the number of people waiting more than four hours in Emergency Departments in England has increased, over 20 million patients visit Emergency Departments each year in England with the vast majority of these being seen in less than four hours. 

Optimising patient care in Emergency Departments is not achieved by just reducing waiting times, which is why a set of new Quality Indicators was introduced in April this year.  These indicators include measures of time, together with markers of quality and safety, designed to drive better patient care in all Emergency Departments. The indicators will retain focus and support for the development of emergency care to the high standard our patients expect and deserve.” - Dr John Heyworth, President of the College of Emergency Medicine

Alison Gourdie Memorial Fund 2011 (8th August 2011) - Applications are sought for this award. Follow link for details and an application form

Quality Indicators in Foundation Trusts (5th August 2011) - An open letter from the College President following discussions with Monitor.

Consultant Sign-Off Audit (5th August 2011) - Updated guidance on the forthcoming audit.

Clinical Excellence Awards 2012 (4th August 2011) - Latest developments and guidance on applying.

Clinical guideline use in the Emergency Department (4th August 2011) - Guidance on the availability, usefulness and applicability of clinical guidelines of relevance to Emergency Medicine in the United Kingdom (UK).

New Paediatric Emergency Medicine section (4th August 2011) - The College is very pleased to announce some new web pages about Paediatric Emergency Medicine which we hope will help trainers, trainees and potential future EM trainees. Follow the link above. The information provided includes:

  • Availability of PEM sub-speciality training (map of UK with useful info on departments)
  • How to apply for sub-speciality training (in an FAQ format)
  • Options for timetabling the 12 months WTE  (in an FAQ format)
  • Examples of consultant job plans for EM consultants with sub-speciality recognition for PEM
  • Useful links and resources

 

JULY 2011

Recommended Requirements for Doctors applying for Middle Grade posts in Emergency Medicine (29th July 2011)

Recommended Requirements for Locum Consultant posts in Emergency Medicine (29th July 2011)

Management of blood exposure in police officers (22nd July 2011) - Professor Matthew Cooke (National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care) has published an open letter to the NHS to clarify existing policy on the need for officers to receive assessment, and any necessary initial post exposure prophylaxis treatment, following exposure to blood of other persons (Click on link above)

Call for nominations: CEM Vice-President (22nd July 2011) - Nominations are sought from Fellows of the College who wish to stand for election to the position of Vice-President.
Nominations must be signed by two Fellows, and by the applicant. Please include a personal statement of no more than 300 words. Nominations close on the Wednesday 17th August and should be returned to the College office by post, fax or email (for the attention of Gerardine Beckett gerardine.beckett@collemergencymed.ac.uk).

Dignity in practice: an exploration of the care of older adults in acute NHS trusts (5th July 2011) - Report from the NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation programme. EXTERNAL LINK

GMC consultation on Protecting children and young people: the responsibilities of all doctors (5th July 2011) - The GMC have developed draft guidance on this important and sensitive issue to help doctors feel confident in raising and acting on concerns about the safety and welfare of children and young people. You can read the draft guidance and questionnaires and take part in the consultation online at www.gmc-uk.org/childprotection. The consultation will run until Friday 14 October 2011.

 

JUNE 2011

NCEPOD: call for study proposals 2011 (30th June 2011) - NCEPOD is inviting organisations or individuals to submit original study proposals for consideration as possible forthcoming studies. Study proposals should be relevant to the current clinical environment and have the potential to contribute original work to the subject.

Those wishing to submit a study proposal should complete the study proposal form and return it to NCEPOD by 30th September 2011. Click on link above to the NCEPOD website.

NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes – you’ve still got time to join the winning team... (27th June 2011) - The NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes are awards given to NHS organisations across the country to recognise and reward those who have proven that they can deliver more for less, and sustain and improve the quality of care for patients. Closing date 14 August 2011.

They would really like to hear from you in relation to finding innovative solutions for delivering treatment and care in the following areas:

  • Earlier cancer diagnosis.
  • Increasing independence for those with kidney failure.
  • Better management of pregnancy.
  • The reduction of MSSA and/or E.coli bactraemias across a health economy.
  • The reduction of waste associated with prescribing practice.
  • Ensuring that people seeking urgent and emergency care receive the best care at their first attendance.
  • Reducing avoidable attendances at GP surgeries and other Primary Care settings.

Performance Management of NHS ED Services Using the Clinical Quality Indicators (23rd June 2011) EXTERNAL LINK - Alan Hall, Director of Performance for NHS Finance, Performance & Operations, wrote to the NHS on 23 June 2011 with more detail on how the Department of Health will hold NHS trusts to account in 2011/12 in relation to the ED clinical quality indicators.

ED clinical quality indicators: best practice guidance for local publication (23rd June 2011) EXTERNAL LINK - The DH has set out best practice guidance for the presentation and publication of the ED clinical quality indicators.

Understanding when things go wrong - CEM Safer Care Workshop, Friday 2nd September 2011, Churchill House, London (23rd June 2011) - Join us for this workshop on how to maximise the learning from untoward events: The day will cover root cause analysis and introduce prospective hazard analysis – the workshop is open to teams of clinicians and managers.  Register online here

Guidance and resources for liaison with Police Constabularies (23rd June 2011) - a new set of resources for EDs including template protocols for local arrangements for the management of detainees requiring hospital treatment, suspected drug swallowers and detainees who are intoxicated.

The Data Vacuum in Emergency Care (British Journal of Healthcare Management 2011 Vol 17 No 1) - Download a recent article written by members of the CEM Informatics group that describes the current situation with respect to PbR, assesses the problems that currently
exist and describes an initiative by the College of Emergency Medicine to improve data collection and accuracy to inform commissioners and clinicians of the clinical activity that is occurring within Emergency Departments.

Government response to the NHS Futures Forum Report (21st June 2011) EXTERNAL LINK

New website for the Intercollegiate Board for Training in Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine - http://www.ibtphem.org.uk (21st June 2011)

New website for the European Society for Emergency Medicine - http://www.eusem.org (21st June 2011)

CEM Doctoral Research Fellowships and CEM Research Grants (20th June 2011)

Payments to Clinicians from Pharmaceutical Companies - HMRC request for information (20th Jun 2011) - a letter for your information from the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) saying that they have been requested by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide information on all payments made to individual clinicians over the last two tax years. This issue was discussed at a recent meeting between AoMRC representatives and ABPI.

Revised CEM Expenses Policy & Procedures (17th June 2011) - Council yesterday agreed a new expenses Policy and Procedures. This will come into effect immediately.

Help shape the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM) (16th June 2011) -
The FMLM is conducting research with an independent research agency to inform and guide the development of the new body. Doctors from all specialities and stages of their careers are invited to share their views and expectations of the new Faculty, in confidence. The online survey will run until 7 July and can be accessed at http://ashridge.orsl.co.uk/fmlm

Dial 111, is this the way forward? (15th June 2011) - The NHS Alliance Urgent Care Network has just published a discussion paper – A new approach to 111: Re-establishing general practice as the main route in to urgent care – which outlines the issues around the use and implementation of a new national number.

The objective of this discussion paper is to encourage primary care providers, patients and the government to engage in the discussion about how the new national number can be implemented within the current system to bring about efficiencies and better care for patients. See also the first interim report on the Evaluation of NHS 111 pilot sites

CEM Position Statement - HIV testing in the Emergency Department (13th June 2011)

New CEM best practice guidance - Management of Adult Patients who attend Emergency Departments after Sexual Assault and / or Rape (13th June 2011)

Safer Care Newsletter (8th June 2011) - the first issue of the College of Emergency Medicine’s Safer Care Newsletter, which is is for all EM physicians with an interest in patient safety in the Emergency Department.

New CEM Informatics section (6th Jun 2011) - The casemix and IT section of the CEM website has been revised and updated. In this section you will find information and guidance on datasets, payment by results and casemix.

 

MAY 2011

Latest CEM e-newsletter (26th May 2011)

Joint statement on the emergency care of older people (18th May 2011) - the College together with the BGS, RCGP, RCN and RCP have published a statement calling for the development and integration of care for older people.

Presentation on the Quality Indicators from the Emergency Care Intensive Support Team (16th May 2011)- this is being used in presentations to Acute and Foundation Trusts, PCTs and commissioning groups. Please note this replaces the version posted on 28th March.

The ED performance landscape (16th May 2011)

Example - Calculating the 95th percentile (16th May 2011)

(Below) Breams Buildings - The new CEM HQ. Anticipated moving date is Nov 2011.

NHS Evidence has now changed (11th May 2011) - Yesterday (10 May 2011) a new version of NHS Evidence – the service which provides health and social care professionals with access to quality-assured, best-practice information – went live. http://www.evidence.nhs.uk/
 
NHS Evidence now provides you with access to a broadened range of relevant and high quality information including the latest guidelines, high quality patient information, research uncertainties and other selected information across a wide range of conditions and specialties.

HPA Chemical Hazards and Poisons Report - Issue 19 (10th May 2011) - Articles of particular interest to emergency medicine practitioners include lessons identified in communicating with hospital emergency departments during chemical incidents, investigating refrigerant leaks in healthcare settings, and potential increasing risks from carbon monoxide from shisha pipes and toxins from the sea.  A searchable index of nearly 700 previous articles, including over 40 concerning chemical incidents and hospitals, is available at www.hpa.org.uk/chemicals/reports.

To subscribe to the Report by email, please contact chapreport@hpa.org.uk. For 24-hour public health advice during chemical incidents, please contact the HPA on 0844 8920555.

 

 

Carbon Monoxide: protect your patients; protect yourself (10th May 2011) - A unique group is being formed by Lynn Griffiths, founder of the charity Carbon Monoxide Awareness. The aim of the group is to ensure that best practice is followed by all professionals who might be the first contact point of carbon monoxide victims with health services.  
 
The charity is inviting ED staff to join a group that will meet twice yearly to discuss ways of raising awareness of carbon monoxide amongst professional colleagues. Any other interested parties are warmly invited to attend a brief inaugural meeting of the group on Tuesday 14 June at 1pm. The meeting will take place in Committee Room 1 at the House Of Lords.
 
If you are interested in joining please contact Lynn Griffiths on 07715899296 or lynn@covictim.org.

Carbon Monoxide Information for Doctors (6th May 2011) - The Carbon Monoxide awareness campaign has set up a blog  - http://co-info.blogspot.com/ - containing background information for doctors about CO exposure. You can also download their information leaflet for patients here.

Save the date - CEM/IFEM Symposium: Quality & Safety in Emergency Care 15/16 November 2011 (4th May 2011) - The College is delighted to be hosting this international symposium on Quality and Safety in Emergency Care in conjunction with IFEM. Leading clinicians, researchers and academics from across the globe will be contributing to the symposium with the intention of developing an international consensus on quality and safety in emergency care. Please join us in London for this highly prestigious event being held at the British Museum. More details will appear on the CEM website soon.

 

APRIL 2011

NHS Networks (28th April 2011) - NHS Networks is a free resource dedicated to help people get together to share ideas and improve the health service for all those who work in and use it. EXTERNAL LINK

Triage position statement (26th Apr 2011) - CEM, ENCA, FEN & RCN have today jointly published a position statement on triage. The paper defines the activities of triage, initial assessment and streaming and indicates the added value of each to the patient pathway in the emergency /urgent care settings.

Making and using visual and audio recordings of patients (26th Apr 2011) - new guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC) for doctors about making recordings of patients.

Left - The new CEM HQ: Breams Buildings. Anticipated moving date mid Nov (tbc).

Bank holiday press release (15th Apr 2011) -  The College has released a press statement regarding the forthing period of multiple bank holidays.

Standards for the design of hospital in-patient prescription charts (13th Apr 2011) - The AoMRC, together with the RCN & RPS has developed standards for the design of in-patient prescription charts, using expert opinion and evidence.

Join the CEM Professional Standards Committee (11th Apr 2011)  - The College is seeking Fellows and Members to join the PSC. Follow the link for more information.

Emergency Life Support (ELS): teaching ALL children how to save a life (6th Apr 2011) - The Resuscitation Council (UK) is working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, supported by numerous organisations including CEM, to lobby Parliament to include ELS as a mandatory part of the national school curriculum. Find out how you can help to achieve this goal.

 

MARCH 2011

4th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society - Major Complications of Airway Management in the UK (30th Mar 2011) EXTERNAL LINK. See here for comments by Prof Jonathan Benger, CEM Emergency Airway Lead

Quality Indicators - Frequently Asked Questions (30th Mar 2011) EXTERNAL LINK

Urgent and Emergency Care Clinical Audit Toolkit (30th Mar 2011) - A learning tool to support the quality of urgent and emergency care services for patients has being launched by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Latest CEM e-newsletter (28th Mar 2011)

Presentation on the Quality Indicators from the Emergency Care Intensive Support Team (28th Mar 2011) - follow the link to this powerpoint being used in presentations to Acute and Foundation Trusts, PCTs and commissioning groups. Please note this is slightly revised from version posted on 25th March. LOG-IN REQUIRED

NPSA Signals Issue 6 (28th Mar 2011)

NHS Clinical Advisory Group on Major Trauma Workforce (25th Mar 2011) - The Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI) has published a national-level overview of the likely workforce pressure points in establishing Regional Trauma Networks (RTNs). It is intended to facilitate the successful foundation of RTNs over the next twelve months.

CEM HQ - update for Fellows and Members (15th Mar 2011) LOG-IN REQUIRED

Survey on the Role of the GMC in CPD (15th Mar 2011) - Please participate in this informal GMC survey exploring how they can help doctors plan, carry-out and evaluate CPD relevant to their practice.

Important update on PbR arrangements for 2011/12 (9th Mar 2011) - Please note this is a slightly amended version of the update originally published on 25th Feb 2011)

NHS never events list to be extended to 25 (8th Mar 2011)- An extended list of events that should never happen during care in the NHS has been unveiled by the DH in England, along with a powerful financial disincentive.

Sharing Best Practice - discharge advice for patients (8th Mar 2011) - The Best Practice subcommittee has established a section on the website where EDs can share discharge advice, local guidelines and proformas with other EDs, who are welcome to download and adapt them for local use.

CEM guide to the clinical quality indicators for EDs (2nd Mar 2011) - The College has published guidance on understanding and implementing the new quality indicators

CEM response to the Health and Social Care Bill (2nd Mar 2011)

 

FEBRUARY 2011

Call for nominations: FASSGEM Chair (24th Feb 2011)

Open letter from the College to Prof Mike Ardagh, Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department (22nd Feb 2011)

Presentations from recent meetings on Ambulatory Emergency Care (22nd Feb 2011) - EXTERNAL LINK

International conferences on Emergency Medicine (18th Feb 2011) - Follow the link for details of EM conferences around the globe

Academy supports health reforms (18th Feb 2011) - The Academy has made clear its support for the principle of the Government’s health service reforms, with the emphasis on quality outcomes and the greater engagement of clinicians.
 
Delivering these reforms whilst also seeking to find the £15-20bn of savings required from the NHS budget will pose a challenge for the NHS and risks diverting managerial and clinical focus. The Academy and Colleges remain concerned about the following issues in this Bill:
 
•         Wider involvement of clinicians in commissioning
•         Competition, collaboration and integration
 
Click on the link above to see the full statement on the Academy 

Latest edition of NPSA SIGNALS (15th Feb 2011)

What is Emergency Medicine? (15th Feb 2011) - The College of Emergency Medicine has prepared this guide for medical colleagues in other specialties, many of whom will have had experience of hospital Emergency Medicine in the past. It is designed to inform colleagues of the changes over recent years and of the potential future of Emergency Medicine in the UK.

 

JANUARY 2011

Maurice Ellis Award (31st Jan 2011) - An award will be made in 2011. Follow the link for the criteria and details of how to apply

Olympic Games 2012 - Emergency Medicine Doctor (31st Jan 2011) - Would you like to be part of the games? Click on the link to download a job description and application details for the role of Emergency Medicine Doctor at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays

Fit Notes - Guidance for Emergency Medicine  (27th Jan 2011) - Advice has been prepared by the Department for Work and Pensions, and endorsed by the Best Practice Subcommittee of the Clinical Effectiveness Committee College of Emergency Medicine, to ensure that Fellows and Members provide consistent and standard advice to adult patients who request or require a fit note.

Bacterial meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia working group (26th Jan 2011): Expressions of interest are sought from Fellows and Members to join the above working group, who will be drafting clinical standards for the management of bacterial meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in children and young people younger than 16 years in Emergency Departments. For more information and to register your interest please go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZNPK2TM

NPIS/CEM Alert: Stocking of Vipera berus (Common European Adder) antivenom (26th Jan 2011)

Major reforms proposed to the GMC's fitness to practise work - consultation launched (24th Jan 2011). To take part in the consultation, which runs from 17 January to 11 April, visit www.gmc-uk.org/ftpreformconsultation

EMTA Conference, Bristol, 13-15 April 2011 (24th Jan 2011) - Registration now open.

Press statement - CEM response to NHS Information Centre report on ED attendances (19th January 2011)

QIPP National Urgent Care Clinical Dashboard - Invitations for Expressions of Interest from Pioneer Sites (11th Jan 2011) - The Urgent Care Clinical Dashboard presents 'real-time' information on local health economy unscheduled care activity including ED attendances, emergency admissions and GP Out of Hours attendances, and where possible patient level data related to GP practice disease registers. Sites keen to participate in the 'Pioneer Stage' are invited to submit an expression of interest. Follow the link above (to DH website)

UK International Emergency Trauma Register (10th Jan 2011) - is a register to assist in the response to large scale international disasters, particularly when staff are seconded from the NHS. http://www.uk-med.org/trauma.html

Case Notes - A night in the ED (10th Jan 2011) - Listen to the BBC Radio 4 programme exploring the differences between the old-style Casualty and a modern hospital Emergency Department. (Links to BBC iPlayer - available until the end of January 2011)

CEM in the news (6th Jan 2011) - A roundup of news articles from autumn/winter 2010 featuring comments from the College's press office.

Human H1N1 (2009 Pandemic) and Seasonal Influenza (4th Jan 2011) - Principles and resources prepared by the College of Emergency Medicine to assist Emergency Departments in dealing with current levels of influenza, and its effects on emergency services

Sixth Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress (MEMC VI) (4th Jan 2011) - Follow the link for more information on MEMC VI, to be held 10-14 September 2011 at the Kos International Congress Centre in Kos, Greece

BMJ Group Awards 2011 - Medical Team in a Crisis Zone category (4th Jan 2011) - If you would like to nominate an individual or team for this new award please go to http://groupawards.bmj.com/ and submit an entry. The award has been established in partnership between the BMJ Group and the College of Emergency Medicine. Nominations must be entered by 24th January 2011 (extended from 4th Jan)

 

DECEMBER 2010

Carbon monoxide poisoning awareness (20th Dec 2010)

Revised operating framework - Regional Trauma Networks (20th Dec 2010)

New ambulance and ED indicators (17th Dec 2010) - were published today on the DH website: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Urgentandemergencycare/DH_121239#_1

The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011/12 (16th Dec 2010) - was published yesterday and is available at: www.dh.gov.uk/operatingframework

Nominations for President-Elect (15th Dec 2010) - A list of Fellows eligible for nomination can be found by following the link

Patient Safety Delphi - Stage 1 (10th Dec 2010) - The Safer Care subcommittee is looking for at least 100 participants for this Delphi study: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWFD2WS 

Consultant sign-off (9th Dec 2010) - Today sees the publication of a new College of Emergency Medicine standard for Consultant “sign off” of selected high risk patients being discharged from the Emergency Department. This follows wide consultation and two periods of consideration by College Council

Yorkshire & Humber Regional CEM Newsletter (8th Dec 2010) - latest regional newsletter for Fellows and Members in Y&H

CEM Revalidation survey (7th Dec 2010) - The College is trying to establish if there are Consultants or SAS doctors working in Emergency Medicine who may have difficulties revalidating using the proposed process due to the complexity of their working arrangements. If your work involves sessions outside of the ED (clinical/management/voluntary) please complete this survey:
(Please note that if you completed the previous survey, entitled Revalidation for EM Doctors with Complex Work Patterns, you are not required to complete this survey.)

The link for Revalidation For EM Doctors with Medical Work outside the ED is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FTQJJZK

 

NOVEMBER 2010

CEM Toxicology/CBRN working group (29th Nov 2010) Expressions of interest are sought for a CEM working group, being developed to promote and develop the subjects of toxicology and CBRN medicine in order to improve patient outcome, assist emergency physicians’ professional development and support college activities internally and in partnership with other organisations. See here for details and to register interest: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BPLKFFX

IMPORTANT NEWS ABOUT PAYMENT BY RESULTS FOR EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS (24th Nov 2010)

CEM Best practice guideline for management of adults presenting to EDs with potential cervical spine injuries (24th Nov 2010)

Summary of CEM Audit findings for 2009/10 (Pain in children, #NOF, moderate/severe asthma in adults) (5th Nov 2010)

 

OCTOBER 2010

Pandemic Flu 2009: Lessons learned by UK Emergency Departments (26th Oct 2010) -  a summary of key lessons for EDs including key information for patients

Update on indicators from the National Clinical Director (Oct 2010) - log-in required to view

NHS Medical Directors Bulletin (Oct 2010) - contains details of the NHS Trauma Clinical Advisory Group Report  (see page 6)

 

SEPTEMBER 2010

MHRA: monitoring the safety of seasonal influenza vaccines in children (Sept 2010)
The MHRA have asked for your help with monitoring the safety of seasonal influenza vaccines in children. They strongly encourage healthcare professionals to promptly report any cases of febrile convulsion occurring within 72 hours of receiving an influenza vaccine. Click on the link above for more details

Olympics 2012 - HPA preparations update (Sept 2010)

Alcohol Related Harms - (Sep 2010) A College statement outlining concerns about the harm attributable to alcohol in the UK - Press Statement

New College website - (Sep 2010) a quick guide to using the new CEM website

College Annual Report- the full and abbrieviated reports are available for download.

The complete archive for the EMJ is now available to members at the site below:

http://emj.bmj.com/contents-by-date.0.dtl

Previous College statements

 

Hot Topics in EM

CEM e-Newsletters