Royal College of Emergency Medicine

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is a professional body representing emergency medicine doctors in the UK. It is currently newsworthy due to its analysis highlighting a significant increase in deaths linked to long A&E waiting times in England, with figures suggesting over 1,300 preventable deaths per month. This represents a tenfold rise in a decade, a trend the RCEM's president, Dr. Ian Higginson, has publicly questioned the response to. In parallel, NHS plans are emerging, such as the use of 'digital triage assessment' in 18 English hospitals, which may involve directing patients with non-urgent ailments to alternative care pathways or asking them to return later. This development is relevant as it addresses hospital overcrowding and the persistent winter crisis in A&E departments, a situation the RCEM's data underscores the severity of. The organization's work is significant in its role of advocating for patient safety and highlighting systemic pressures within emergency healthcare.