Editorial 71
The annual winter surge – why are we so surprised? Colin A. Graham European Journal of Emergency Medicine 2015, 22:71 Editor-in-Chief, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence to Colin A. Graham, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] Received 10 February 2015 Accepted 10 February 2015
Once again, we in emergency medicine are in the depths of the annual winter surge, and everyone seems to have been taken aback by its occurrence. It is a bit like snow in Scotland in the winter – for something that happens very predictably, few seem to be well prepared. As in all previous years in living memory, the number of respiratory illnesses has risen, driven by seasonal influenza and other viral peaks on a background of chronic lung disease and an increasingly elderly and vulnerable population. There are inevitable increased demands on emergency departments and prehospital care systems and the politicians go to town defending their choice of healthcare policies and blaming the other parties as we pick up the pieces [1–4]. Emergency care systems remain at the heart of heathcare services in most European countries. Politicians struggle with the fact that most people in the modern era want to have high quality healthcare at any convenient time of the day and night (for them) and yet they do not have the resources or the political will to make that happen. However, the emergency department is an obvious solution to these demands, and the patients fully understand this and use the service accordingly, whatever we think of the seriousness of their presenting problems. Successive governments have peddled the myth that most patients in EDs don’t need to be there, and could be looked after by primary care or alternative pathways of care: however, they have never understood that primary care and alternative pathways are usually not open and available when patients want to use these services, so the ED becomes the destination of choice for patients seeking convenient out-of-hours care. ED capacity cannot keep up with demand, and waiting times rise inexorably. The European Society for Emergency Medicine’s role is to advance specialist emergency medicine care in Europe, and it also has a role to influence political agendas for patients’ benefit throughout Europe [5,6]. We can all learn from each other’s experiences and use that experience to influence the systems in our own countries to improve patient care. We now have a discipline of medical care which specialises in the acute care of the undifferentiated time critical patient: emergency medicine. We need to push our politicians to accept that specialists in emergency medicine who can provide high quality 0969-9546 Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
emergency care is often a better and more cost effective option that having other combinations of services providing a second level of out-of-hours care to patients, who are naturally confused as to where they should go or who they should call to seek urgent medical care. It is worth noting that the definition of ‘emergency’ varies enormously from patient to patient, but anxious and worried patients will always present to out-of-hours services when they need reassurance and care, regardless of our opinion of the seriousness of their emergency. We continue to make good progress in building an excellent program for the 9th European Congress on Emergency Medicine (http://www.eusem2015.org) which will be held in Torino in Italy from 10–14 October 2015. The congress will be very useful for all emergency physicians, emergency nurses and prehospital care providers. By the time you read this, the call for abstracts will be open and as always, your submissions must meet minimum research ethical standards to be considered for the conference [7–9]. Finally, I would like to send congratulations to the newly titled Royal College of Emergency Medicine in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II has recognised the contributions of the Royal College and given her permission for the College to be known as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine from now on. This is a momentous achievement in the history of emergency medicine in the United Kingdom and in Europe. EuSEM looks forward to strengthening its already close relationships with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine as we move forward [10].
References 1 2 3 4
Graham CA. Progress in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:303. Graham CA. Carpe diem. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:71. Graham CA. A new year, a new beginning. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:1. Graham CA. The future of emergency medicine is education. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:1. 5 Graham CA. Coming together to advance the specialty of emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:393. 6 Sabbe MB, Graham CA. The European Society for Emergency Medicine is 20 years old. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:323. 7 Miro O, Burillo-Putze G. Research in emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2012; 19:63–68. 8 Graham CA. Ethics in emergency medicine conferences. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:313. 9 Graham CA. Progress and publication ethics. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:243. 10 Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Press release, http://secure. collemergencymed.ac.uk/Public/Latest%20News. [Accessed 9 February 2015]. DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000262
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of the article is prohibited.
The annual winter surge – why are we so surprised? Colin A. Graham European Journal of Emergency Medicine 2015, 22:71 Editor-in-Chief, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Correspondence to Colin A. Graham, European Journal of Emergency Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong e-mail: [email protected] Received 10 February 2015 Accepted 10 February 2015
Once again, we in emergency medicine are in the depths of the annual winter surge, and everyone seems to have been taken aback by its occurrence. It is a bit like snow in Scotland in the winter – for something that happens very predictably, few seem to be well prepared. As in all previous years in living memory, the number of respiratory illnesses has risen, driven by seasonal influenza and other viral peaks on a background of chronic lung disease and an increasingly elderly and vulnerable population. There are inevitable increased demands on emergency departments and prehospital care systems and the politicians go to town defending their choice of healthcare policies and blaming the other parties as we pick up the pieces [1–4]. Emergency care systems remain at the heart of heathcare services in most European countries. Politicians struggle with the fact that most people in the modern era want to have high quality healthcare at any convenient time of the day and night (for them) and yet they do not have the resources or the political will to make that happen. However, the emergency department is an obvious solution to these demands, and the patients fully understand this and use the service accordingly, whatever we think of the seriousness of their presenting problems. Successive governments have peddled the myth that most patients in EDs don’t need to be there, and could be looked after by primary care or alternative pathways of care: however, they have never understood that primary care and alternative pathways are usually not open and available when patients want to use these services, so the ED becomes the destination of choice for patients seeking convenient out-of-hours care. ED capacity cannot keep up with demand, and waiting times rise inexorably. The European Society for Emergency Medicine’s role is to advance specialist emergency medicine care in Europe, and it also has a role to influence political agendas for patients’ benefit throughout Europe [5,6]. We can all learn from each other’s experiences and use that experience to influence the systems in our own countries to improve patient care. We now have a discipline of medical care which specialises in the acute care of the undifferentiated time critical patient: emergency medicine. We need to push our politicians to accept that specialists in emergency medicine who can provide high quality 0969-9546 Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
emergency care is often a better and more cost effective option that having other combinations of services providing a second level of out-of-hours care to patients, who are naturally confused as to where they should go or who they should call to seek urgent medical care. It is worth noting that the definition of ‘emergency’ varies enormously from patient to patient, but anxious and worried patients will always present to out-of-hours services when they need reassurance and care, regardless of our opinion of the seriousness of their emergency. We continue to make good progress in building an excellent program for the 9th European Congress on Emergency Medicine (http://www.eusem2015.org) which will be held in Torino in Italy from 10–14 October 2015. The congress will be very useful for all emergency physicians, emergency nurses and prehospital care providers. By the time you read this, the call for abstracts will be open and as always, your submissions must meet minimum research ethical standards to be considered for the conference [7–9]. Finally, I would like to send congratulations to the newly titled Royal College of Emergency Medicine in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II has recognised the contributions of the Royal College and given her permission for the College to be known as the Royal College of Emergency Medicine from now on. This is a momentous achievement in the history of emergency medicine in the United Kingdom and in Europe. EuSEM looks forward to strengthening its already close relationships with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine as we move forward [10].
References 1 2 3 4
Graham CA. Progress in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:303. Graham CA. Carpe diem. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:71. Graham CA. A new year, a new beginning. Eur J Emerg Med 2013; 20:1. Graham CA. The future of emergency medicine is education. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:1. 5 Graham CA. Coming together to advance the specialty of emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:393. 6 Sabbe MB, Graham CA. The European Society for Emergency Medicine is 20 years old. Eur J Emerg Med 2014; 21:323. 7 Miro O, Burillo-Putze G. Research in emergency medicine in Europe. Eur J Emerg Med 2012; 19:63–68. 8 Graham CA. Ethics in emergency medicine conferences. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:313. 9 Graham CA. Progress and publication ethics. Eur J Emerg Med 2011; 18:243. 10 Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Press release, http://secure. collemergencymed.ac.uk/Public/Latest%20News. [Accessed 9 February 2015]. DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000000262
Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of the article is prohibited.
