Press Releases
Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) statement on junior doctor strike
With junior doctors in England set to stage a four-day strike from tomorrow (Tuesday, 11 April), Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM), said: “NHS urgent and emergency care remains under immense strain. These pressures result in unacceptable standards of care that are increasingly recognised to cause harm to patients. “High…
Read More‘Strike action reflects these concerns and staff burn out’ – SAM president
Commenting on ongoing industrial action by a range of healthcare professionals, Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “These remain extremely difficult times for all those working in health and social care. A workforce crisis is at the heart of the problem and there will be no NHS urgent and emergency…
Read More‘Recognition of the need for more hospital and intermediate care beds welcome’ says SAM as UEC recovery plan published
Commenting on a new blueprint published today by NHS England and the government which aims to help recover urgent and emergency care services, reduce waiting times, and improve patient experience, Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “We welcome the urgent and emergency care recovery plan published today. Winter 2022 was very difficult…
Read MoreNHS pressurised like never before – former SAM president
Commenting today (30 December) on current pressures across the NHS, Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The NHS urgent care system feels to be pressurised like never before with numerous hospitals and services calling critical incidents. “This is the culmination of months increasing struggle which has been exacerbated by…
Read More‘We are in deeply troubling times’ – SAM immediate past president
Commenting on the latest NHS performance data released today (08 December) which shows patients faced record A&E delays last month, Dr Susan Crossland, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “We are in deeply troubling times and the fact that such shocking levels of performance are now commonplace is reflective of just…
Read More‘Standards at unacceptably poor level for patients and staff’ says SAM president
Commenting on today’s NHS performance data release, which shows 69.3% of patients were seen within four hours in A&E departments across October and contains some of the lowest levels of performance on record, Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “This latest set of performance data show that standards are at an unacceptably poor…
Read MoreSAM president warns of “new definition of crisis” as pressure on NHS grows
Commenting today (07 October) on growing levels of pressure across the NHS, Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “We are deeply concerned that workforce and capacity issues in the NHS are simply not being addressed quickly or comprehensively enough to avoid disastrous consequences this winter. “We have delays in emergency…
Read More‘Missing an admission the whole system is broken’ – SAM past president on government plan
Commenting on health secretary Therese Coffey’s statement in the House of Commons and the release today of the government’s Our Plan for Patients, Dr Nick Scriven, past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “Our concerns remain ever-present despite the health secretary’s outline of the government’s Plan for Patients today. “As usual we have…
Read MorePatients waiting for prolonged periods for urgent care “deeply concerning” – SAM past president
Commenting on the Hospital Accident & Emergency Activity 2021-22 data report published today (15 September) by NHS Digital, Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “We have warned that it is essential the number of patients waiting for prolonged periods for urgent care must not be seen as the new…
Read More‘Health secretary needs to deliver comprehensive workforce and capacity plan’ – SAM immediate past president
Commenting on the release today of the latest NHS performance data, which shows among other things that 28,756 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E from decision to admit to admission in August, Dr Susan Crossland, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM), said: “There remains no quick fix for the…
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