Wednesday 21 January 2025
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has joined calls to reform the Urgent and Emergency Care system’ as it asserts the NHS ‘got the winter it prepared for’.
A set of recommendations have been published today – Wednesday 22 January 2025, in a joint statement co-signed by RCEM and other organisations including the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), The Royal College of General Practitioners, the Patients Association, The College of Paramedics and the National Association of Primary Care.
It concludes the NHS “got the winter it prepared for” and has “normalised and accepted” poor care.
The recommendations include improving primary care capacity, supporting the most frequent A&E attendees including annual ‘MOT checks’ for elderly people and improving the ‘flow’ of people through the hospital system. It also recommends the “joining” of urgent community response teams, virtual ward teams and ED teams within communities.
It anticipates the release of an Urgent and Emergency Care ‘improvement plan’ expected to be released by the government in March.
Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said: “The pressure the whole Urgent and Emergency Care system has been exposed to this winter has been clear for all to see which is what prompted us to come together and draft this document.
“We know some of the solutions to this crisis lie outside of the ED but only when these issues are addressed will it abate, and the risk to our patients reduced.
“Our proposals must not only be essential reading for politicians and policy makers – but must be implemented to effect meaningful change.”
