Position Statements
‘Data highlights appalling situation in urgent and emergency care’ – SAM past president (02 July)
Commenting on Labour Party data which showed some patients waited up to 10 days in A&E in parts of England over the last year, Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “This data is yet more evidence of the appalling situation in urgent and emergency care. These patients are…
Read MoreSocial media adverts promoting weight loss drugs “extremely worrying” says SAM president-elect (28 June)
Commenting on an investigation by The Times into social media adverts promoting weight loss treatments “to get summer ready”, Dr Vicky Price, a consultant in acute medicine and president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “These adverts and the messages they are conveying are extremely worrying, particularly given the patients we are seeing with…
Read MoreSenior doctor warns of increased pressures due to hot weather ahead of impending strike action (26 June)
The president of the Society for Acute Medicine has warned of increased pressure on the NHS amid the current hot weather and ahead of the next period of industrial action which starts tomorrow. Dr Nick Murch said clinicians were already experiencing “significant” pressure that will be exacerbated by strike action by junior doctors which runs…
Read MoreSAM SDEC Position Statement May 2024
Same Day Emergency Care: A need to pause and Reset! The recommendations in this statement aim to reinforce and complement the recent joint guidance from Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) and Royal College of Emergency Medicine2 explicitly acknowledging these principles, outlining what medical SDEC is and, as importantly, isn’t. To view the recommendations see below
Read MoreSAM president says ‘shame of dangerous waits and overcrowding must end’ following release of 12-hour wait data (24 June)
Commenting on data released by the Liberal Democrats today (Monday, 24 June) which shows 440,000 patients waited 12 hours or more in emergency departments last year, Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The Liberal Democrats’ continued focus on health and social care and, in particular, dangerous waits and overcrowding in…
Read More‘Crisis in UK emergency departments an ongoing national scandal’ – SAM president
Following the release of a report by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) this evening (20 June) which showed more than 90% of A&E doctors said patients are coming to harm due to the current crisis in UK emergency departments, Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “We echo the…
Read More‘Pleasing Labour is recognising issue of delayed discharges and considering solutions’ says SAM past president (18 June 2024)
Commenting on the Labour Party’s plan to use part of NHS budget to buy beds in care homes to help reduce overcrowding in hospitals, long waits in A&Es and patients waiting for extended periods in ambulances, Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “Degrading and harmful corridor care in…
Read More‘Urgent regulation needed for online weight loss drugs’ – SAM president-elect (14 June 2024)
Commenting on concerns around patients requiring acute and emergency treatment in hospital after purchasing weight loss injections from online pharmacies, Dr Vicky Price, president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “I and many other colleagues in acute medicine across the UK are very concerned about the increasing numbers of patients we are seeing with…
Read More‘Strain on urgent and emergency care increasingly causing harm’ – SAM president (13 June 2024)
Commenting on the latest NHS performance data released today (13 June) which showed, among other things, that one in 10 patients attending emergency departments in May waited 12 hours or more and 53.3% of patients who were ready to be discharged from hospitals were unable to be due to a lack of social care provision,…
Read More‘Health MOTs in A&Es will not stop patients languishing in corridors’ says SAM past president (12 June 2024)
Commenting on NHS England’s announcement that hospitals will be asked to deliver health MOTs to older patients presenting with frailty-related conditions in emergency departments, Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “It is often too late once a patient is already in an emergency department and this will not…
Read More