Alleviating Pressure On Doctors

Emergency doctors are calling for better funding and staffing to reduce the pressure on A&E departments.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has launched a four-point plan.

It states that safe and sustainable staffing levels must achieved, while terms and working conditions must be fair.

Medics also want the Scottish Government to do more to reduce overcrowding and for primary care facilities to be co-located with emergency departments.

Commenting on the publication of the STEP campaign, Prof Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said, "The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh welcomes the launch of the STEP campaign and we believe it highlights issues which are significant for all health professionals as these issues will only be resolved through collaborative working. 

"The pressures in unscheduled care are well known, and the focus of any work we do must be to improve care for the acutely unwell patient. The RCEM rightly highlights safe and sustainable staffing as a key issue in Emergency Medicine, as it is in all health professions, and the RCPE’s recent editorial on preventing further serious failings in care made proposals for developing minimum staffing levels for all professions in hospital settings.

"Ensuring we have collaborative working throughout hospitals will help to address the problem of “exit block” identified by RCEM, where patients cannot progress through the hospital from Emergency Departments to the appropriate ward, usually because the inpatient beds are full. Improving “patient flow” throughout the hospital is vital and many of the issues highlighted in the RCPE statement on this issue are still outstanding. Tackling exit block and patient flow must be a priority for action for all involved, whether clinicians; managers or politicians.

"The STEP campaign highlights issues that are also being considered by the Scottish Government’s unscheduled care review, and it is important that both these initiatives are supported and driven by all professions associated with health and social care, and that a whole system approach is planned and adopted."