Supporting ambulance service development

Following mounting pressures on England's emergency care services, the NHS Confederation's Urgent and Emergency Care Forum has brought together organisations from across the whole health and care system to debate, develop and share ideas for improving urgent and emergency care. The resulting briefing published by the NHS Confederation, which incorporated findings from a survey of 125 senior NHS leaders and an analysis of national data, highlighted a concern that only ‘sticking plaster’ solutions were being offered to overcome pressures placed on A&E departments, rather than solutions which focus on the long-term challenges ahead (NHS Confederation, 2013).

This was followed by a report published on 10 March, which proposed the fundamental changes required to create a sustainable and high-quality urgent and emergency care system that can meet the needs of patients (NHS Confederation, 2014).

One of the key recommendations from the report is the importance of getting the best from the urgent and emergency care system and workforce. Ways in which this could be achieved include improving the education, information, engagement and support available to staff.