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RCEM Newsletter - May 2023

RCEM Newsletter - May 2023

News and views from The Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Please use the "On this page" menu below for contents.

Welcome from the President

The April 96 hour walkout by Junior Doctors in England was an interesting and disruptive time for many of us left behind to hold the fort. Largely, we coped and no department needed to close. Like many of us, I rolled up my sleeves, got stuck in and actually rather enjoyed myself. Performance figures were considerably better and departments seemed to run well. It isn’t clear whether this was because of reduced demand, increased capacity from less elective work or increased senior decision making. Regardless, it was good to know that our problems are fixable and emergency medicine can be enjoyable. The bill for this extra cover, either in money or PAs, is eye watering and I hope that both sides start the inevitable negotiation sooner rather than later.

The media frenzy around the strikes overshadowed the first monthly publication of 12 hour length of stay data by NHS England. This replaces the frankly misleading 12 hour Decision To Admit metric and is more meaningful. This is the result of a lot of lobbying over the last 10 years by the College.

I’m writing this on the way to the annual CPD Conference, which I’m really looking forward, not least because my own department, led by Virginia Newcombe is the organising committee. Conferences provide a valuable chance to reconnect and reflect.

See our campaign to improve care. Resuscitating Emergency Care

Dr Adrian Boyle
President, Royal College of Emergency Medicine
@RCEMpresident

College News

EMTA News

The EMTA committee has been busy at the start of this year.

Our EMTA survey has now closed, and data is being analysed to give us insights into ways we can improve the trainee experience for the next year.

The BMA industrial action on behalf of junior doctors in England is obviously ongoing. We, like everyone else, hope a resolution can be found through negotiations before the next round of strikes in April but in the meantime, we have a statement: https://www.emta.co.uk/newsletters. This also contains a link to a document from the RCPCH with practical advice on what IA may mean for your training.

Based on results from our 2021 survey, we’re involved in a large MDT piece of work looking at improving civility in our departments. This feeds into RespectED: https://rcem.ac.uk/respected-campaign/ and we’re working with Chris Turner from the Civility Saves Lives campaign. When work is hard, please remember to look after yourselves, your peers and trainees. See more on RespectED further down this section.

We’ve been looking at the risks of fatigue in clinicians. The association of anaesthetists have started #FightFatigue, please take a look at their extensive resources here: https://anaesthetists.org/Home/Wellbeing-support/Fatigue/-Fight-Fatigue-download-our-information-packs and see how these could be implemented in your own departments to benefits not only trainees but all other staff. This compliments our own Rest & Rota charter https://www.emta.co.uk/restrota and going forwards we’re going to be collaborating with the AoA taking this work wider- cross specialty.

We’re always keen to expand our regional network and know we have a few black spots; please get in touch at emta@rcem.ac.uk to plug us into the trainee rep in your region.

If you’re looking for a fellowship opportunity or are a trainer wishing to list a clinical fellow post please take a look at our EMTA Fellowship app:  https://emta-jobs.glideapp.io/

Finally, see the latest EMTA Newsletter – April edition.

RCEM Monthly Forum

The RCEM Monthly Forum is open to RCEM Membership. If you would like to join us, then please register your interest here via the link below:

https://login.rcem.ac.uk/atsscrape/RCEM/National_Zoom_meetings_tickbox.aspx
This is a one-hour call led by the RCEM President, Dr Adrian Boyle and who gives an update on the national picture facing Emergency Departments followed by topical clinical updates and advice on the latest medical challenges seen in Emergency Departments.

If you missed previous fora, you can catch up here. The latest meetings can be found below.

Meet the Regional Chairs!

We are excited to share that we now have Regional Chairs in all ten regions in England! In addition, we have set up Regional Boards in five regions and are currently setting up a new Regional Board and reviving a Regional Network.

Our Regional Chairs and Boards are working together to raise awareness of the specialty, supporting and advocating for emergency medicine practitioners and patients alike.

Regional Chairs act as a voice for a region and its localities, feeding information back to Council and ensuring the region is represented in decision-making. Regional Boards and Networks support the Chair by acting as a communication channel, updating the Chair with on-the-ground information and experiences.

Each Regional Chair and Board is working on projects unique to their local needs, with activities ranging from organising CPD conferences to meeting with Members of Parliament, reflecting the diversity of the specialty and each region.
Our current Regional Chairs are:

  • East Midlands – Mr Asif Malik
  • East of England – Dr Nida Y Suri
  • London – Dr Samira Akberali
  • London – Professor Tim Harris
  • North East – Mr Alex J A Johnston
  • North West – Dr Andrew Ashton
  • South Central – Will be formally announced in June
  • South East Coast – Dr Sarah Roberta Honess
  • South West – Dr James W Gagg
  • West Midlands – Dr Susan Elizabeth Dorrian
  • Yorkshire and Humber – Miss Sally-Anne Wilson

There are lots of different ways to get involved! For further information on what’s happening in your region and how you can get involved, contact the Policy team at policy@rcem.ac.uk
Be sure to follow our College Officers on Twitter:

  • Dr Adrian Boyle – @RCEMPresident
  • Dr Ian Higginson – @RCEM_VP
  • Dr Salwa Malik – @RCEMvp_Salwa
  • Dr Maya Naravi – @RCEMvp_Maya
  • Dr Jason Long – @RCEMvp_Jason
  • Dr Russell McLaughlin – @RCEMVP_NI
  • Dr Suresh Pillai – @VP_Wales_RCEM
  • Dr JP Loughrey – @VP_Scot_RCEM

RCEM Volunteering Opportunities

We encourage members to get involved with the College by joining committees and boards and contributing to the breadth of College activity. If you are interested in representing fellow members and advocating for patients in your region? Or if you are looking for opportunities to develop both personally and professionally, please check out our volunteering pagefor opportunities to get involved.

Become a CESR assessor

Are you interested in this very important role which involves ensuring that Emergency Departments are led by consultants who have all the necessary competences? The CESR team are in constant need, the more assessors in the team means the more we can spread the workload. If you are interested in joining the team, please see the requirements and how to apply via Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) | RCEM. Please email cesr@rcem.ac.uk for any other queries.

New 24/7 confidential helpline for RCEM Members

We are now offering free, 24/7 confidential helpline support for all our members via a Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme. Your call will be handled by an experienced therapist or advisor who will offer support in a friendly, non-judgemental manner. You can contact them by phone at any time for help with:

  • Stress and anxiety
  • Bereavement
  • Relationship advice
  • Tenancy and housing concerns
  • Counselling
  • Financial wellbeing
  • Legal information
  • Alcohol and drug issues
  • Family issues
  • Childcare support
  • Medical information
  • Consumer issues

Simply call the free 24-hour confidential helpline on 0800 028 0199 and use the code MHA 229 700 to access support.

Further information can be found HERE.

Emergency Medicine Journal

Emergency Medicine Journal

EMJ’s April issue is now online!

You can also listen to our latest podcast for a summary of some of the best papers from this issue, presented by Sarah Edwards, Social Media Editor of EMJ, and Rick Body, Deputy Editor of EMJ.

Our latest podcast covers topics including the impact of emergency physician gender on the outcomes of patients with early pregnancy loss; major trauma centre care for patients with low velocity trauma; the development of a new checklist for emergency paediatric intubation; the effect of head-up position on intubation success in the Emergency Department; and spiking by injection in the ED.

Subscribe to the EMJ podcast via all podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify, to get the latest podcast every month.

#CountMeIn – help us improve representation by filling in your College profile

Emergency Medicine is one of the most diverse professional clinical communities. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to fully evidence the diverse intersectionality of who we are, as the demographic data we have of our members is patchy.

This Spring we’re running #CountMeIn to truly capture and celebrate the diverse intersectionality of who we are.

Having a sense of our members’ representation will help us to better understand how best to represent you.

Help us to help you by filling in your College profile today.

Join us in starting a dialogue about the importance of representation in emergency medicine by sharing the campaign and your views on social media.

RespectED – our anti-bullying campaign to challenge toxic behaviour in EDs

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine 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 (EDs). These negative behaviours have a huge impact in EDs; they can create a toxic working environment, affect morale and the delivery of safe patient care.

The RespectED campaign is being launched to acknowledge that bullying, harassment and incivility occur in Emergency Departments. It encourages staff to address their own behaviours, to speak up and challenge these behaviours if they witness or are targeted by them and to positively change Emergency Departments and their cultures.

RespectED video

As pressures once again mount on the NHS it is vital that negative and toxic behaviours are challenged, and staff are supported by their colleagues and peers.

Jayne Hidderley, Chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Lay Group, said: “We know when incivility and bullying take place in our Emergency Departments, it not only has a detrimental effect on all staff but is a serious risk to patient safety. Our RespectED campaign, in collaboration with Civility Saves Lives, is a call to action to raise awareness amongst our staff and start the conversation. We want all staff in our Emergency Departments to be equipped to speak up, challenge these behaviours and change the culture together.”

You can find out more about the campaign, along with other useful resources, here.

EUSEM – Safety in the Emergency Departments: Survey for professionals

This year the Emergency Medicine Day campaign is dedicated to safety. Safety for our patients, who need care, attention and relief from pain and disease. Safety for our colleagues, who need to be able to work in a secure environment, for the right number of hours with the right number of patients in order to be able to give them the right amount of our time and energy. Only in these conditions are we sure to provide the patient with a safe haven in an emergency.

We strongly believe it is of the utmost importance that we can provide concrete data to the relevant stakeholders to reflect our distress and how this can threaten our safety and that of our patients.

The results of the survey will be published on the EM Day and will be circulated to media and politicians.

Meanwhile, make a note in your diary…..

This year the Emergency Medicine Day campaign is dedicated to safety. Safety for our patients, who need care, attention and relief from pain and disease. Safety for our colleagues, who need to be able to work in a secure environment, for the right number of hours with the right number of patients in order to be able to give them the right amount of our time and energy. Only in these conditions are we sure to provide the patient with a safe haven in an emergency.

We strongly believe it is of the utmost importance that we can provide concrete data to the relevant stakeholders to reflect our distress and how this can threaten our safety and that of our patients.

A validated survey, about the safety of emergency care in your ED closed on 27 February.

The results of the survey will be published on the EM Day and will be circulated to media and politicians.

Events

Annual Scientific Conference

Date: 26 – 28 September 2023
Abstracts submissions are now open for the upcoming Annual Scientific Conference. Abstracts are a key part of the conference with top submissions being invited to present either an oral presentation or a poster. Presenting your work can help to inform education and clinical practice, as well as providing personal development opportunities such as improving your presentation skills and enhancing your CV. Deadline for all submissions is Friday 23 June at 12:00 (midday) BST.
More information and submit your abstract.

Agents of change: spotlight on ED attendances

Date: 4 May 2023
Join this virtual study day to explore emergency department attendances examining key questions such as; why do people attend the ED? Is there anything we can do to reduce the number of people attending? What has inequality go to do with it? Is the problem frequent attenders?
View the programme online and book now.

Scottish EM clinical conference 2023

Date: 10 May 2023
Join us in Glasgow for the Scottish EM clinical conference 2023. This is a must attend event for the Scottish EM community, featuring the latest clinical updates, as well as student and free papers presentations. The programme includes sessions on Group A strep, out of hospital cardiac arrest, and updates from the Scottish Paediatric Trauma Network.
View the programme online and register now.

Catch-up with on-demand events

All our virtual study days are available for booking on-demand for 6-months after their live date. This means if you’ve missed a study day you can register and watch the whole thing whenever suits you. Recent study days that have been added include:

  • Oncological challenges in the ED
  • Same day emergency care
  • Brush up your research

View all on-demand events and book now

Policy

Uncovering the Full Picture: How we influenced policymakers to publish the 12-Hour Time of Arrival Data
By Pooja Kumari, Policy and Public Affairs Manager

In February 2023 the Government and NHS England published its Delivery Plan for the Recovery of Urgent and Emergency Care Service, announcing that the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more from their time of arrival will finally be published in April. For nearly a decade now, the College has campaigned to get this important dataset published on a regular basis. Although this journey has pre-dated my time at the College, the Policy and Public Affairs team has worked closely with our College Presidents to lobby for this important change. In this blog, I will outline the steps we took to successfully influence NHS England and the Government to publish the 12 hour data.

NHS England has long published the number of patients who wait 12 hours from the decision made to admit (DTA) the patient. We know that this is misleading for a number of reasons as it does not capture the true extent of the delays experienced by the patient. Beginning in 2019, the Clinical Review of Standards aimed to establish a new set of measures that would be better for both patients and clinicians. The College played an important role in calling for the 12-hour metric to be collected from the time of arrival (ToA) to the ED within the bundle of proposed metrics as this would better demonstrate the gravity of delays experienced by patients. It also brings performance measurement in line with the rest of the devolved nations.

Building the evidence base

Initially, the only source of data capturing the discrepancy between the DTA and ToA 12-hour data was the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). HES data provided an annual aggregate of the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more from ToA, which effectively gave us just one moment each year to raise awareness of this issue, limiting our ability to lobby for change.

To land this issue on the policy agenda, we decided to take a different approach. In 2022, we submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to every single trust in England and to gather their ToA data by month for 2021. We published these results in our Tip of the Iceberg report. This was the first time that such a comprehensive and detailed dataset had been made available. We were able to show the wide degree of variation in the time of arrival and decision to admit figures across different Trusts.

At this point, no one had provided us with a compelling reason why this data shouldn’t be published. We used the intelligence gathered in our Tip of the Iceberg report to ask NHS England to publish this data, giving them a deadline of the 1st of July 2022. When we didn’t hear back from NHS England, we submitted a complaint to the Office for the Statistics Regulation (OSR). It was in the interests of every patient to publish this data as it is important that the public have faith over the accuracy of the statistics presented by NHS England. The OSR wrote to NHS England asking them to take steps to ensure this important dataset is published monthly, in line with the rest of the devolved nations.

We appreciated this intervention but recognised there was much to be done. The next step was to ensure that we got our hands on this data routinely and so the College submitted regular FOI requests to NHS Digital to access the data on a monthly basis.

Lobbying policymakers

In summer 2022, we worked closely with MPs to table a debate in the House of Commons on Waiting Times for Ambulance and Emergency Services. The debate discussed this dataset as an immediate, cost-effective way of improving the performance of the system and supporting better patient outcomes. The House of Lords Public Services Committee’s inquiry into emergency services concluded the need for this data to be published imminently. Our President, Dr Adrian Boyle, gave evidence to this committee in person; parliamentarians were appalled to see the glaring discrepancies between DTA and ToA datasets. Influencing other organisations – especially influential parliamentary groups – to lobby for the same cause as us is important. Collective action is effective in driving policy change.

Over Christmas our President and Vice Presidents made a time critical intervention and publicly discussed the dire state of emergency care. Their efforts landed us extensive media coverage along with an invitation to a number of high-profile meetings. By shaping the press agenda, we were able to frame publishing the 12-hour data as a desirable quick win to policymakers. This time our efforts paid off.

A collective effort

Thank you to all those who have supported our efforts thus far, and we look forward to continued collaboration in the future. We extend a special thanks to our current President, Dr Adrian Boyle and former President Dr Katherine Henderson. Together, they have been the driving force behind our advocacy work. I also want to acknowledge the important role played by our former Presidents. Firstly, Dr Taj Hassan, who laid the foundation for our work on this campaign and the late Dr Cliff Mann, who advocated for this important change during his time as National Clinical Advisor for Accident and Emergency Care at NHS England.

Our Policy and Public Affairs, and Communications teams have been instrumental in bringing this issue to the forefront of policymakers’ attention. From securing us headline after headline using our FOI data to writing effective briefings to place this issue on the policy agenda.

While we celebrate this achievement, our advocacy work is far from over. This data is just the first step towards improving patient safety and ensuring timely access to emergency care. We will continue to campaign to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare to ensure better outcomes for every emergency patient.

Resuscitate Emergency Care

We’ve launched our new campaign to tackle the problems facing Emergency Medicine. Five Priorities for UK Governments to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare lays out what UK governments must focus on to tackle the crisis, improve patient care, retain staff, and prevent harm. The five priorities are:

  1. Eradicate overcrowding and corridor care for patients
  2. Provide the UK with the Emergency Medicine workforce it needs to deliver safe care
  3. Ensure our NHS can provide equitable care to emergency patients
  4. Focus on evidence-based interventions to tackle overcrowding
  5. Introduce meaningful and transparent metrics to facilitate performance and better outcomes for patients

You can read the full recommendations here, and the press release here.

Quality

New RCEM guidance

Medical Workforce Guidelines for Remote, Rural and Smaller Emergency Departments

This guidance is designed to assist Members and Fellows planning and delivering services from smaller Emergency Departments (EDs), especially those located in rural locations and those situated remotely with respect to other services. It describes a suite of potential staffing and organisational solutions for services that define themselves in this way.

In 2018 the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) published guidance on Consultant Staffing in Emergency Departments1. Smaller emergency departments (described at that time as those with attendances of less than 60,000 patients per year) were excluded from the overall staffing guidance. ED pressures have continued to grow over time and the attendances at those UK departments that consider themselves as small have increased. Defining small, remote or rural based on a number of annual attendances has become more challenging as a result. Some smaller hospital EDs are located at some distance from their nearest neighbour, whereas others are located geographically closer to other departments but may suffer from similar challenges with regards to staffing recruitment and retention, paucity of additional on-site services etc.

As a rule of thumb smaller EDs should be considered as those that receive up to 70000 attendances annually.

This guidance recognises that although each department will face a unique set of challenges, it is possible to group these into underlying themes in terms of describing the potential solutions and support that may be needed for each department and service to thrive.

Mental Health – an ED Toolkit (April 2023)
Suspected nitrous oxide toxicity in EDs (April 2023)

Safety Reports

See the Safety Flashes and News Alerts on the website.

Quality Improvement

RCEM National QIP Reports are now published. Pain in Children, Infection Prevention and Control, and Consultant Sign Off. These reports cover the quality of care for patients attending type 1 UK emergency departments from Oct 2021 – Oct 2022.

2022/23 QIP registration and data entry is now open to all Type 1 UK Emergency Departments!

The topics running in 2022/23 are:

  • Infection Prevention and Control – Data collection (3 October 2022 – 3 October 2023)
  • Mental Health (Self-Harm) – Data collection (3 October 2022 – 3 October 2024)
  • Care of Older People – Data collection from 5 May 2023 – 4 October 2023

Please see the topic information packs and submit the Registration Form to register your ED.

Our QIP for 2023/24 cycles are; Care of Older People, Mental Health (self-Harm), and Time Critical Medication

For all the above please see the Quality Improvement pages.
A new guidance has also been issued by the RCEM Paediatric Emergency Medicine Professional Advisory Group for the Management of Adolescent / Young Adult Patients in the Emergency Department.

National Clinical Impact Awards

We know you’re brilliant! Now let’s let the world know.
Consultants can now apply for a National Clinical Impact Award until 5 May 2023.

The National Clinical Impact Awards scheme (previously known as the national Clinical Excellence Awards) has been reformed in order to broaden access to the scheme, make the application process fairer and more inclusive, and ensure the scheme rewards and incentivises excellence across a broader range of activity and behaviours. The new scheme is fairer and has a more inclusive application process designed to fully reflect the diversity of the consultant population in the NHS.

We wish all eligible consultants the best of luck with their award applications, we know you are brilliant!

See more for the Awards for Quality in Emergency Medicine.

Membership

ACP Survey

The RCEM ACP Forum exists to represent ACPs working in Emergency Medicine and want to better understand and support our EM-ACP colleagues.

The Forum is undertaking a survey to help understand the experience of ACPs to see what positive trends there are that require ongoing support as well as identifying any issues that the Forum could then look at to see what support could be put in place.

Full analysis of data will help identify how emergency medicine ACPs can be better supported to improve training locally and regionally and help guide national organisations policy decisions.

Complete the survey

Wellbeing Support At RCEM

Your RCEM membership provides Here at RCEM we offer two main resources which aim toprovide support you to our members with both wellbeing and practical needs: the RCEM Wellbeing App and Health Assured access. We want to encourage you to utilise the tools and platforms available and have provided more information about both below. You can also refer to our Wellbeing Support page here.

RCEM Wellbeing App

Your RCEM membership provides you with access to the RCEM Wellbeing App. RCEM have partnered with 87%, and alongside a team of psychologists, built a fully customised mental wellbeing app specific to the needs of emergency physicians.

The app contains a wellbeing questionnaire which addresses 7 dimensions of health. Upon completion of a mental fitness profile, you’ll receive a score and fitness programme with routine bite-sized actions to help you stay on track. You’ll also get custom advice and monthly reports to help you stay aware of your progress.

This app is convenient, accessible, secure and entirely private with only aggregated and anonymised data being shared with the College to track the wellbeing of our specialty as a whole.

Accessing the app

The Wellbeing App can be downloaded to your device by searching for “87%” and more detailed instructions are available at our Wellbeing Support page here. Please email wellbeing@rcem.ac.uk if you would like us to resend your access code so you can start accessing the app.

Health Assured

RCEM have partnered with Health Assured, the UK and Ireland’s leading wellbeing provider to offer a 24-hour helpline to support you through any of life’s issues or problems.

What support is provided?

Health Assured provide a confidential support service designed to help you deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health, and general wellbeing.

The service provides a complete support network that offers expert advice and compassionate guidance 24/7, covering a wide range of issues. The service is designed to provide not only reactive support when someone needs it but also proactive and preventative support to deliver the best possible outcomes.

Services Available

  • Life support: Access to counselling for emotional problems and a pathway to structured therapy sessions (employees only) at your convenience
  • Legal information: For issues that cause anxiety or distress including debt management, consumer, property or neighbour disputes (employees only)
  • Bereavement support: Health Assured offers qualified and experienced counsellors who can help with grief plus legal advisors to help with related legal matters
  • Medical information: Qualified nurses are on hand to offer support on a range of medical or health-related issues offering practical information and advice
  • Online CBT: A range of valuable self-help tools are available to aid in dealing with a range of issues, including CBT self-help modules, informative fact sheets and invaluable advice videos from leading qualified counsellors.

Helpline services available

Health Assured also offers support for you and your immediate family members*, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by calling 0800 028 0199 and use the code MHA 229 700 to access support.
*Health Assured define immediate family members as spouse/partners and children aged 16 to 24 in full-time education, living in the same household.
Update your personal data and EDI information – help us to help you!
It’s crucial that we have accurate contact details for you and it’s also important that we hold up to date demographic member data to ensure inclusion and representation for all.
Please take a few moments to review your data in your account to ensure you receive important EM updates and enable us to support you and the speciality in the long term.

RCEM Lifestyle Rewards

All members have the benefit of being able to enjoy RCEM Lifestyle Rewards at any time via RCEM Lifestyle Rewards. Members receive new exclusive discounts and added value offers every month on a wide range of luxury products, services & experiences.

This month’s special selection of Lifestyle Rewards offers are:

Sandbanks Style
Home to The Best Value Paddleboards & Kayaks
We design the best value, best quality, iSUP’s and inflatable kayaks in the UK.
Save 10% on Paddleboards and Kayaks!
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/sandbanks-style/2872/?access=1

C-MONSTA
Looking after your kit…
Save 15% off The Ultimate Wetsuit Hanger!
Wetsuit, boots and gloves, dried together. Robust and lightweight. Built and tested by cold water surfers.
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/c-monsta/2819/?access=1

Millichamp & Hall
Finest Handmade Cricket Bats…
An international reputation for crafting high performance cricket bats for players of all ages and abilities.
Member save 20%
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/millichamp-hall/2814/?access=1

Ruark Audio
Premium small audio range…
Save an exclusive 10% our award-winning range of premium small audio products.
Let the music play…
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/ruark-audio/2849/?access=1

Nu-Fit
Dedicated to pursuit of fitness and wellbeing…
Save 10% on a wide range of equipment including weights, dumbbells, kettlebells, bars, plates & indoor cycling training.
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/nu-fit/1295/?access=1

Harry’s
We make products for all men, thoughtfully…
Meet your new bathroom saviour: The Winston razor.
Get £5 off your first Winston Trial Set, when you sign up to a Harry’s subscription.
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/harry-s/2870/?access=1

Caminos by Casas Cantabricas
Vintage, Classic & Sports Car Tours in Spain and Portugal
Tailor-made tours for the discerning traveller.
Save 5% on an independent, self-drive, touring holiday in Spain or Portugal…
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/caminos-by-casas-cantabricas/2871/?access=1

Fresh Grills
Outdoor Cooking Specialists…
Upgrade you garden with serious cooking equipment.
Specialising in outdoor pizza and Kamado ovens.
Members save 10%
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/fresh-grills/2741/?access=1

Hattingley Valley Wines
Award-winning Premium English Wines…
Never had the pleasure of sipping award-winning premium English wine?
With a fantastic 20% off now’s your chance!
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/hattingley-valley-wines/2766/?access=1

Firestorm
Reaching New Heights…
Warm up your evening with our unique and mesmerising Firestorm Pellet Stoves, our eco-friendly Patio Heaters.
Members save 10%
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/firestorm/2839/?access=1

Oxenwood
Save 10% on Luxury Outdoor & Indoor Furniture…
Handcrafted indoor and outdoor furniture expertly crafted with premium natural materials.
Designed to last a lifetime… Members save 10%
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/oxenwood/2806/?access=1

Castara Retreats
“The perfect perch on an idyllic Caribbean Isle”
Luxury hillside eco-lodges overlooking the ocean in Tobago, the Caribbean.
The ultimate luxury getaway – members save 10%
https://www.rcem-rewards.co.uk/offer/castara-retreats/2820/?access=1

Examinations

Recent Exams

It has been a busy few weeks in Exams with the delivery of the first diets of our three theory exams coming in quick succession. The FRCEM SBA, MRCEM SBA and MRCEM Primary exams taking place in February, April and May respectively with more than 5000 candidates from over 40 countries booked to take those exams. The recent MRCEM SBA exam is the largest exam the College has ever delivered, with over 2000 candidates taking the exam on 25 April.

Results for the MRCEM OSCE in Malaysia and the recent FRCEM SBA exam have now been released, and the team is now working hard in preparation of the next FRCEM OSCE taking place in London later this month.

Training

ePortfolio news

MSFs:

Multi-source feedback (MSF) are forms that allow a user to send invitations to multiple participants for their completion of the feedback. This means that for a placement or a training year user do not need to create an MSF for each assessor but only one MSF.
Users can add multiple emails in the in “Who would you like to send this form to” field. This can be done in batches as follows:
After one form has been sent at least to one participant:
Open the same form that has been created going to timeline > Multisource feedback and clicking on the name of the form.
You will see that there is an invite button and field.
Add the emails of the new participants (we recommend adding 5 at a time. This because sometimes users might have an account with us that has been disabled and this might block the invitation of other users).
Click on Invite.
Opening the form, you will be also able to view the following:
Participants invited that have responded.
Participants invited that have not responded: in this case you also can send reminders or retract the invitation.
To note:
Currently there is 30 participants invitation limit within the form.
At least 3 consultants should respond.
Technically 12 responses are needed to close the MSF. Please consult your educational supervisor for the minimum required as it might vary locally.
Please do not create multiple forms as we are not able to merge them anymore.
Should you have sent multiple forms (one for each consultant), please:
choose one of the MSFs (Multisource feedbacks) that has been created,
add the other MSFs participants’ emails to that form in the invite field.
click on invite to send the invitation.
Please contact the assessors for them to be aware you are asking them to reply again.

How to close MSFs:

When the minimum of responses has been reached, your supervisor will be able to release a summary as follows:
Going to the supervisee’s Timeline -> Multisource feedback
Clicking on the relevant MSF to open it (NB please do not use Preview)
Scroll down to the bottom of the MSF.
Click on Close this section (green button)
The system will collate and anonymise the results for them to be viewed.

Did you know?

Educational meetings: are started by trainees/clinicians. These forms can be sent to supervisors only if the latter have been correctly added by the clinicians to their ePortfolio.
ACCS End of placement report: can be created only by supervisors correctly added to a clinician’s ePortfolio. This to record an end of placement (not for the end of a training stage. Please see below)
End of placement reviews for ST3 to ST6: currently are created by trainees via creating the form called Educational supervisor meeting ST3-ST6 and selecting the End of placement review within the form event type field.
Educational supervisor report (Covid19)- ACCS, Intermediate or Higher. These forms are the old curriculum STR (Structured Training Report) equivalent on the new EM (Emergency Medicine) 2021 curriculum. The Educational supervisor report Covid 19 needs to be created by Educational supervisors prior to the ARCP (Annual Review of Competence Progression) panel meeting. More information can be found here: (https://rcemcurriculum.co.uk/assessment-strategy/)

ACPs:

Educational supervisor reports (new ACPs curriculum 2022) are not currently available. Further communication will be sent in due time. For further information please contact: acp@rcem.ac.uk.
Foundation skills sign-off and tracking: please refer to the FAQs section and the alerts published in your ePortfolio inbox/dashboard. For further information please contact: acp@rcem.ac.uk.

Trouble shooting:

Supervisor not able to view a supervised clinician? please ask the clinician to create the event called Add a supervisor. At the top of the event there is an end date that needs to be set up. When the end date expires, the supervisor access to the supervisee’s ePortfolio will expire too.
HALO, EPA1 and EPa2: for a clinician to be able to send this type of forms the assessors need to be added to the clinician’s ePortfolio as Clinical supervisor (add a supervisor event) for sufficient time. Should the assessor not have an RCEM risr/advance account please contact ePortfolio@rcem.ac.uk providing us with assessor’s full name, GMC (General Medical Council) nr and email.
For further information please refer to the FAQs, the alerts in your ePortfolio inbox or contact EPortfolio team. Thank you for your collaboration.

Contacts:

Phone: +44 (0)20 7404 1999
Email: ePortfolio@rcem.ac.uk

Learning

Listen to our latest podcast for April 2023.

Latest publications

International

William Rutherford International Award – Nominations now open!

The William Rutherford International Award is made annually to an individual that has demonstrated evidence of excellence in emergency care or humanitarian activities within low- and/ or middle-income countries or settings. The award will consist of an invitation to the recipient, as well as a collaborator of the recipient from a low or lower middle-income country or setting, to co-present their work at a national RCEM conference (this award will also cover travel, hotel & conference registration for both the winner and the collaborator).
Potential candidates can be nominated by Fellows or Members of the RCEM. The nominee must also be a Fellow or Member of the RCEM.
Applications close at 17:00 on Friday 23 June 2023.
Full information on the background of the award and how to apply can be found on the International Awards section of our website.

Visiting Observer Fellowships in Global Emergency Health – Applications now open!

Our Visiting Observer Fellowship Scheme enable leading Emergency Clinicians from low and middle income countries to visit UK clinical centres where they can develop their knowledge and exchange good practice.
This is a new scheme which offers short clinical observership placements within the UK National Health Service (NHS) to Emergency Medicine doctors from low-resource settings.
Placements will last for four weeks around September/October 2023. During this time, successful Visiting Fellows are invited to visit the RCEM UK head office and attend the RCEM Annual Scientific Conference.
During the attachment, the doctor is not given any responsibility and is not able to make clinical decisions or give clinical advice. The doctor will not receive or be required to obtain registration or a license to practice with the UK General Medical Council.
Applications close at 17:00 on Friday 16 June 2023.
Full information on the background of the scheme and how to apply can be found on the Global Emergency Committee International Opportunities webpage.

Global Placement Grant Scheme for UK-based RCEM members and fellows – Applications now open!

Our Global Health placement grants offer RCEM members and fellows based in the UK, the opportunity to spend time in low-income settings, working to improve healthcare systems and or support programmes developing Emergency Medicine. By sharing their skills, knowledge, and expertise to help build capacity, develop sustainable solutions, and empower local healthcare providers to deliver high-quality care.
Whether you’re a trainee or have completed your training, we welcome applications from all backgrounds and levels of experience. We ask applicants to evidence that their selected placements are tailored to their skills and interests, and that the selected partner organizations evidences a project with a focus on sustainable impact. Where possible evidence of how this placement may offer a future opportunity for RCEM to support the development of EM in that particular setting.
Grants of £1,250 are normally awarded although in some extreme cases amounts above this may be considered if the rationale behind this is evidenced. The Global Emergency Committee will review all applications and if successful confirm approval of the funds to support an international placement.
Longer term placements will be favoured due to the ability the building meaningful relationships in-country and in the interest of environmental sustainability.
Applications close at 17:00 on Friday 23 June 2023
Full information on the background of the award and how to apply can be found on the Global Emergency Committee International Opportunities webpage.

BMJ Careers

Senior Clinical Fellow in A&E – Bedford
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
£33,790 to £53,132 per annum
We are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic Emergency Medicine Doctor to work at the Bedford Hospital Site Emergency Department.
Read more…

Senior Clinical Fellow in Emergency Medicine and Major Trauma
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
£35,408 to £55,674 per annum
We are looking for a motivated Senior Clinical Fellow to join our enthusiastic and expanding team in Cardiff. The posts are available from 2nd August 2023 for 12 months.
Read more…

Specialty Doctor Emergency Medicine with CESR Programme
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
£50,373 to £78,759 per annum pro rata
We are seeking applicants who want to be part of our commitment to providing high quality emergency care to support the medical and nursing team and provide a breadth of knowledge, skills, and expertise to the department.
Read more…

A full list of vacancies is available here.

Other news

GMC fees

The GMC Council has agreed the annual retention fee for 2023 which will come in from 1 April. Changes to fees will be below inflation (3.1%, rather than a 10.1% increase, which was the rate of inflation in September when fees were reviewed ). This is the same level as last year’s rise. It means an increase of £5 for newly qualified doctors and £13 for doctors with full registration when they pay their annual fee in 2023. This is a break from the 2017 policy to keep fee changes in line with inflation, in recognition of the rising cost of living. If you’d like any more detail on the above, you can have a look at the fees pages of the GMC website.

Let the SEDIT do the heavy lifting – new animation video released to promote GIRFT-developed emergency medicine data dashboard

The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme has produced a new three-minute animation video to introduce new users to the Summary Emergency Department Indicator Table (SEDIT) data platform.

The SEDIT supports emergency department (ED) teams to understand their demand, capacity, flow and outcomes, and to make improvements accordingly, with the help of colour-coded graphs, charts and filtering tools.

The latest SEDIT developments include new additions to the platform – system view and ambulance tab – and a new permanent link from within the EM component of the Model Health System dashboard.

GIRFT is encouraging all EDs to use the SEDIT to support patient flow and capacity management. You can find out more by visiting the GIRFT website: gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/sedit

Press & Media

You can find the College’s latest press releases on the website and read the College’s response to the latest Spring Budget which announced pensions reform. You can also read the College’s response to the latest British Social Attitudes survey by Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund and more.

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