Acute and emergency care departments face profound pressures. This report outlines recommendations for delivering a sustainable and resilient emergency care system. It is intended for Government officials, national bodies, commissioners, providers, professional bodies and clinicians.
Key recommendations
- Patients should encounter the right care in the first instance to minimise repetition of assessment, delays to care and duplication of effort.
- Emergency departments should have an appropriate skills mix. There should always be senior decision-makers, and trainee doctors should work on rotation.
- Community and social care should be co-located with the emergency department and should deliver a seven day week service.
- Emergency medicine services should be available 24/7.
- Targets for attendances and acute admissions in emergency departments are unrealistic and should change.
- IT infrastructure should effectively integrate clinical and safeguarding information.
- Telephone advice services can ease pressures on emergency care system.
The 13 recommendations set out in this report were informed by round-table discussions. It was co-authored by RCPCH, Royal College of Physicians, The College of Emergency Medicine and Royal College of Surgeons.
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