Emergency Medicine 2014

The sixth national Emergency Medicine 2014 conference took place at the Hallam Conference Centre, London, between 23 January and 24 January 2014. Co-organised by the Journal of Paramedic Practice and British Journal of Hospital Medicine, the two days were split across issues in pre-hospital care and management in the emergency department. Delegates included paramedics, specialists in emergency medicine and anaesthetists, who came together to consider the current state of emergency medicine in the UK. Journal of Paramedic Practice attended the first day.

Following a welcome from the morning's chair, Prof Fiona Lecky, ScHARR, University of Sheffield and honorary consultant in emergency medicine, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, the conference began with a discussion of the state of emergency medicine services in the UK by Dr Clifford Mann, president, College of Emergency Medicine and consultant in emergency medicine, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Mann alluded to the media attention surrounding emergency care professionals in 2013, which arose as a result of widespread concern regarding delays in ambulance handovers, breaches of the four hour target and incidents of poor care. In response to the competing challenges of rising patient attendances, the College of Emergency Medicine published 10 priorities for resolving the crisis in Emergency Departments (also referred to as ‘CEM 10’), which clearly sets out the action which needs to be taken to address the current crisis in A&E.