News

21/05/2013: SAM Benchmarking Audit

20^th June is an important day in the SAM calendar as it is the date of the Second Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit (SAMBA 2013), which is once again being organised by Dr Chris Subbe, Dr David Ward, Dr Ivan LeJeune and Dr Charlotte Masterton-Smith.

This is a vital opportunity to document the fantastic work which is going on in Acute Medical Units up and down the UK, in a one-day audit of Acute Medicine practice. Last year over 30 AMUs took part and the results were presented at the SAM Spring meeting in Coventry and will be published in the next edition of the Acute Medicine journal. The names of all the units who participated will be listed in the journal.

We are keen to involve even more units this year; all the information and resources you will require can be found by clicking here.

21/05/2013: Consultants and higher speciality trainees in acute medicine survey

The importance of ‘generalism’ in the future of in-patient care in the UK has been highlighted in a number of recent publications. Later this year the Royal College of Physicians of London is planning to publish the report of its Future Hospital Commission, in which continuity of consultant care will be a key theme. A number of potential solutions are likely to be proposed to increase the numbers of physicians able to provide a holistic approach to patient care.

To this end we would be very grateful if you would respond to the attached survey which is aimed at current acute physicians (those consultants spending over half of their clinical time working on the AMU) and ST3+ trainees in Acute Internal Medicine. The questions are designed to establish what you are doing currently and how you see your career developing in the future, in the light of the changing service needs in hospitals.

The survey should take only a few minutes to complete and we are very keen to get as high a response as possible to help to inform the response that SAM produces in the ‘generalism’ debates which are going to start during the coming months.

Please click here to access the survey.

19/05/2013: In the news this week...13th of May til 19th of May

Headlines…

Many older patients see death as ‘too far off’ to plan end of life care, suggests survey. (Nursing Times, 13.05.2013)

Health and social care ‘join up’ plans unveiled. (The Guardian, 14.05.2013)

Emergency departments in the UK are facing ‘unsustainable workloads’ warns a new report by the College of Emergency Medicine. (National Health Executive, 15.05.2013)

Action needed to improve medicines use and reduce waste, says new research from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). (Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 16.05.2013)

Type 2 diabetes rise in under-40s, says Cardiff research. (BBC, 17.05.2013)