A high-level meeting of over 160 senior doctors, nurses and health professionals from around the UK, convened by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government, has produced recommendations which have the potential to significantly improve the provision of urgent care for hospital patients throughout Scotland the UK.
The Consensus Statement which was produced at this event will now be passed to the Scottish and UK Governments and disseminated into clinical practice. Key recommendations include -
- hospital bed and staff capacity must be aligned to meet demand. This will require an extension of seven day working by clinicians and support services in hospital and the community;
- the NHS should demonstrate the ambition to work towards eliminating ‘boarding’;
- patients must be seen immediately by the right, competent, clinical decision makers;
- there should be a named professional with responsibility for the patient’s care, supported by multidisciplinary teams as appropriate; and
- every acute medical unit must have a dedicated, effective multidisciplinary team (MDT) with consistent and appropriate membership.
Access the press release.
Access the consensus statement.
