Prof Derek Bell, President, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said,
“The RCPE is committed to improving the quality of patient care in hospitals.
"This report confirms that the problems experienced in A&E Departments cannot be tackled in isolation. While beds are an important part of the equation, it is essential that we look at how patients move through the whole hospital system and ensure that patients have a high quality and safe journey through hospital. The RCPE has recently produced guidance on how to improve patient flow and is working with the Scottish Government to improve the delivery of unscheduled care in Scotland [1]. During our recent consensus conference, at which this guidance was produced, it was recognised that there is a need to understand bed occupancy levels more effectively.
"Acute Medical Units have been established in the UK for over 20 years and are now being developed internationally. They play a vital part in improving patient safety and should not be viewed as just supporting A+E."
ENDS
Contact Graeme McAlister on 0131-247-3693 or 07733-263453
[1] RCPE Consensus Statement on Patient Flow in Acute Medicine, November 2013. http://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/final_statement_patient_flow_.pdf
