Evidence-based approaches to speed up assessment times, reducing
the time people wait to be admitted to hospital and a focus on
sustainability are some of the ways new quality standards will
help to improve Wales’ emergency departments.
Health boards will be expected to deliver the Quality
Statement for Care in the Emergency Department, which Health
Minister Eluned Morgan launched today (15 March), to improve
outcomes and experience for everyone attending Wales’ emergency
departments.
The statement complements the Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency
Care programme, which has developed new services to ensure people
can get the right care, in the right place, the first time.
Health Minister Eluned Morgan said:
“Building on the improvements we’ve delivered through the Six
Goals for Emergency Care programme, the Quality Statement will
provide health boards with clear direction on what good care
looks like within our emergency departments across Wales.
“Our Six Goals programme has helped to ensure that people are
being seen in the right place by the right person – that doesn’t
mean that everyone always has to go to an emergency department
when they need urgent care.
“It has also helped our major emergency departments outperform
their counterparts in England in 14 of the last 17 months, in
relation to the four-hour target. We are pleased the Office for
National Statistics has recently confirmed that the published
performance statistics for major emergency departments in
England, Scotland and Wales are broadly comparable.
“But we know there’s much more to do to improve the standard and
timeliness of care people receive when they go to emergency
departments.
"We’ve listened to staff and to the public in developing this
Quality Statement. The public want clear and frequent
communication, to feel comfortable and warm and to be treated
quickly but sensitively.
"And we know the dedicated and skilled staff working in these
busy departments want a focus on timely flow of patients from
departments into hospital wards, and access to better quality
data to drive improvements to patient care.
These will be the priorities for us in the year ahead and I
expect our national programme, clinical network and health boards
to get behind delivering them.”
A new national ‘Green ED’ scheme is being funded by Welsh
Government, in collaboration with the Royal College of Emergency
Medicine (RCEM), to embed sustainable working practices, reduce
emissions, waste and costs in Wales’ 12 emergency departments.
The Minister has also established a national task group to review
emergency department measures. It will consider whether there are
better measures of quality, value, experience and outcome for
care provided in emergency departments to help inform the Welsh
public about what to expect when accessing these services and to
help drive improvements. It will focus on what matters most to
people and what is clinically meaningful.
The National Clinical Lead for Emergency Care, Tim Rogerson,
added:
“Emergency department staff work tirelessly 24/7 to deliver the
best possible care to patients under relentless pressures.
“It is recognised that many challenges we face have both their
causes and solutions outside of the emergency department
footprint. However, clinical leaders are pleased to have a
Quality Statement which brings focus on emergency departments,
allowing us to prioritise the things in our gift and drive the
quality of emergency care provided across Wales.”
Notes to editors
The Quality Statement for
Care in the Emergency Department can be found here
https://www.gov.wales/quality-statement-care-emergency-departments
