Greater Manchester Urgent Care Clinical Congress 2009

Source: Commissioning Business Service

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Year of Publication: July 2009

Publication type:  Website

In a nutshell: The Greater Manchester (GM) Urgent Care Clinical Congress took place on 10th July, 2009 and was designed to build a shared understanding of the case for change to optimise the delivery of urgent care services for local people.  The event, run by the Association of GM PCTs and the GM Urgent Care Network, had valuable support and input from the Commissioning Business Service (CBS).  Speakers included Mike Farrar, senior A&E doctors and experienced GPs.  The congress engaged a wide range of clinical, managerial and patient stakeholders to establish the current situation across GM and the priorities for action on urgent care across all services.  The GM Urgent Care Network will work to implement congress recommendations.

Length of publication: Webpage with link to pdf output report

Unscheduled care facilities: minimum requirements

Source: College of Emergency Medicine

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Year of publication: July 2009

Publication type: Report

In a nutshell: The College of Emergency Medicine have set out what they consider to be the minimum requirements for unscheduled care units which see the less seriously ill or injured, so that they can provide safe, high quality, appropriately supervised and cost efficient care for patients. 

The recommended standards are relevant to both stand-alone units and co-located urgent care facilities. 

Length of publication: 4 pages

Some important notes: These minimum requirements have been published in collaboration with the Faculty of Emergency Nursing and the Emergency Nurse Consultant Association

A systematic review of models for forecasting the number of emergency department visits

Source: Emergency Medicine Journal  

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Date of publication: June 2009 

Publication type: Systematic review

In a nutshell: The ability to predict patient visits to emergency departments is crucial for designing strategies aimed at avoiding overcrowding.  Knowledge of the mathematical models used to predict patient volume is essential. Articles were reviewed for studies designed to predict patient attendance at ED or walk-in clinics. The mathematical methods developed to predict ED visits have a low rate of error, but the prediction of daily patient visits should be used carefully and therefore does not allow day-to-day adjustments of staff.  ED managers should be aware of the model limitations. These models should be used to assess future needs.

Length of publication: 5 pages

Some important notes: An NHS Athens password is required to access the full text of this article.  Please contact your local NHS library for further details