All Journals from Daniel Lasserson
In the acute care pathway, patients often need to move from home to hospital and for the majority, back again. This movement across care interfaces ensures that assessments and interventions are delivered to reduce risk of harm and enhance recovery. However, information needs to move across interfaces too, which enables the clinician taking over care to understand the problem, what has been done and what remains to be done. This is as important for the journey into hospital as it is for the journey home again and is highlighted in the forthcoming NICE guidance on Emergency and Acute Medical Care.
Emergency departments are under year-round pressure, driven by high hospital bed occupancy and compounded by increasing attendances and admissions.1 In 2023, 1.5 million people waited 12 hours or more for a bed.2 Long waits are associated with increased mortality and there is a disproportionate impact on people living in more deprived areas.3,4 Addressing this problem begins with unity of purpose and vision, such that we all view emergency department performance as our responsibility, whatever our place in the healthcare system.