Explore the principles of leadership in emergency and acute care, including decision-making, team dynamics, resilience, and professional development. Our posts provide practical insights for clinicians looking to lead effectively in high-pressure environments.
Analysis of NHS UEC plan 2025/26: key changes from previous iterations, strengths and weaknesses, plus core strategies for successful implementation
The Urgent & Emergency Care Plan 2025/26: Evolution, Promise & Challenges Read More
Emergency departments (EDs) often seem to shift from calm to crisis in an instant. Why? This article explores ED crowding through the lens of complexity science and self-organised criticality, explaining how minor changes—like a few extra patients—can trigger disproportionate chaos. Using the sandpile analogy and concepts like power law distributions, we reveal why traditional linear models and static targets often fail to manage ED flow effectively. Instead, we offer a data-driven, systems-based approach: identifying tipping points, recognising early warning signs, and implementing proactive, anticipatory interventions. From real-time dashboards to weekly cycle planning and distributed decision-making, this article offers a practical guide for building resilience in emergency care. Learn how your ED can thrive in complexity, not just survive it.
Self-Organised Criticality: Why your ED is like a Sand Pile Read More
Creating a learning culture in the emergency department (ED) fosters psychological safety, open communication, and continuous improvement.
Building a Learning Culture in the ED: Why It Matters and How to Make It Happen. Read More
Kevin Cyr, the commander of a SWAT-like unit within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, shared his insights at the Tactical Trauma 24 conference in Sundsvall, Sweden, and offers essential takeaways for anyone working in high-pressure environments, including healthcare professionals.
Podcast – Learning through Failure – Kevin Cyr at Tactical Trauma 2024 Read More
Liz Crowe gives us a fantastic critical appraisal of an EMJ paper discussing the patient experience in the emergency department.
Patient experience in the Emergency Department Read More
The practice of coordinating, consulting and managing an entire acute clinical service in real-time is fairly unique to emergency medicine. Central to this is the EPiC (or emergency physician in charge) role #FOAMed @stemlyns with @codingbrown
An EPiC mental model. St Emlyn’s Read More
This was a really powerful session that took us on a journey from the past, to the present and left us with a feeling of hope for the future. I’ll
R-A-C-E session at RCEM CPD conference Read More
Our regular podcast round up with @docib and @emmanchester of the best of the blog from January 2024. This month we focus on habits, the management of the comatose overdose patient and retention/recruitment issues in UK emergency medicine. #foamed @stemlyns
