The Welsh Government has today announced that all Emergency Departments in Wales will take part in RCEM’s GreenED sustainability programme.
The announcement was made today (Friday 15 March) by Health Minister Eluned Morgan as part of the government’s Quality Statement for Care in Emergency Departments.
The statement reads: “We are launching a national “Green ED” accreditation framework across all of emergency departments in Wales, in collaboration with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
“This Welsh Government-funded programme has been welcomed by clinicians and will embed sustainable working practices in emergency departments and positively impact on the reduction of emissions, waste and costs.
The statement also sets out plans for a dedicated “national task group” to track measurements on quality, value, experience and patient outcome in Welsh Emergency Departments.
Dr Katja Empson, Vice Chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Wales, said: “We welcome the announcement made today by the Welsh Government’s Health Minister.
“The College has been working closely with Welsh Government officials to help shape the Quality Statement for Care in the Emergency Department and hope it will ensure better outcomes and experiences for all who work in, or need to visit, Welsh Emergency Departments.
“RCEM is delighted that the Health Minister has committed to making Emergency Care in Wales as sustainable as possible by enrolling all the country’s Emergency Departments in the College’s GreenED Programme.
“And the convening of a National Task Group to look at how Emergency Department performance in Wales is measured is also a very welcome step, as we very much agree with the Minister’s comment that ‘better quality data…drive[s] improvements to patient care’. Metrics should be meaningful and robust.
“We look forward to joining the Group, and contributing to its work, and will continue to recommend that Wales’ ‘clinical exemptions’ policy is abolished.
“We are pleased to work with the Welsh Government to ensure the best for our members, their Emergency Medicine colleagues, the planet, and most importantly our patients.”
