Emergency and urgent care

Here you’ll find the latest policy updates and publications relating to paediatric emergency and urgent care.

Updates

Recent publications

Commissioning paedaitric emergency care

Clinical guidelines and studies

Further resources

Updates

New standards set for emergency care of children and young people

Standards for Children and Young People in Emergency Care Settings, [third edition] 2012

Developed by the Intercollegiate Committee for Standards for Children and Young People in Emergency Care Settings, this revised edition provides healthcare professionals, providers and service planners with measurable and auditable standards of care applicable to all urgent and emergency care settings in the UK. 

The 2012 edition reflects changes in the way care is delivered: there is a new chapter focusing on mental health and substance misuse and the document takes a 'pathway' approach to aid a multi-professional workforce. Most importantly, this edition shifts from making recommendations to setting standards, giving healthcare professionals the guidance they need to provide the best service for children and young people along the care pathway. 

*new* Purchase the document

Download the document (PDF, 602KB, 56 pages)

Read the full press release

Recent publications

Right Care, Right Place, Right Time? 

This intercollegiate document aims to set clear standards and guidance for service planning and commissioning of U&EC services to patients 0-16 years, in a local pathway model.

Download this document (PDF, 128KB, 9 pages)

Commissioning paediatric emergency care

The Emergency Medicine Operational Handbook (The Way Ahead), College of Emergency Medicine, 2011

This guidance is for clinicians, managers and commissioners involved in the delivery of Emergency Medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It replaces the previous guidance ‘The Way Ahead’ in December 2008. 

Download this document (PDF, 83 pages)

Guidance for commissioning integrated urgent and emergency care: a 'whole system' approach

Written by Dr Agnelo Fernandes, one of the Centre’s National Clinical Commissioning Champions and RCGP lead for urgent care, this publication outlines the requirements for good urgent and emergency care. It is a collaboration of a wide range of professionals from across urgent and emergency care and related fields, including public health, social services and the voluntary sector.

Download this document (PDF, 3.9MB, 86 pages)

The Urgent and Emergency Care Clinical Audit Toolkit,  RCGP, 2011

The Royal College of General Practitioners has launched a learning tool to support the quality of urgent and emergency care services for patients. It has been extensively piloted and will help provide a seamless approach to promote quality care across a range of NHS services.

Download this document (PDF, 3.5MB, 52 pages)

Whole System Approach to Improving Emergency and Urgent Care Guide 

This document brings together all of the learning from the teams across the country that the NHS Institute has worked with, offering real examples of how teams have enhanced the quality of children and young people's emergency and urgent care by working collaboratively across organisational boundaries and as a whole system.

Download this document (PDF, 1.8MB, 59 pages)

Short Stay Paediatric Assessment Units: Advice for Commissioners and Providers, RCPCH 2009

This report aims to inspire discussion about Short Stay Paediatric Assessment Units (SSPAUs) among NHS commissioners and providers of hospital paediatric care. It proposes that SSPAUs can improve the provision of safe emergency services for children and examines some possible models.

Download this document (PDF, 248KB, 20 pages)

Clinical guidelines and studies

Experience of parents and carers who need advice when a child has a fever, RCPCH and partners, 2010

In 2008, the Department of Health commissioned the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to conduct an exploratory study, using the NICE guideline, Feverish Illness in Children: Assessment and Initial management of children younger than five years as a framework.

Download the document (PDF, 1.7MB, 77 pages) 

The Role of the Consultant Paediatrician with Subspeciality Training in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, RCPCH 2008

This report by the the Intercollegiate Committee for Services for Children in Emergency Departments explores the role of paediatricians with subspecialty training in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, and makes recommendations for how their skills can be most effectively utilised.

Download the document (PDF, 465KB, 16 pages)

Focus on: Children and Young People Emergency and Urgent Care Pathway, NHS III, 2008

This document looks at the emergency and urgent care pathway for children and young people with the most common illnesses and injuries.

Download the document (PDF, 2.2MB, 51 pages)

Further resources

Children's Attendance at a Minor Injury/Illness Service (PDF, 9 pages) RCPCH, 2002 (This has now been superceded by the 2012 edition) - This sets out managerial, accountability and service considerations together with details of clinical network and staffing arrangements for ensuring that MIUs offer appropriate care for U16s which is integrated with the emergency services.

Services for Children in Emergency Departments (PDF, 539KB, 16 pages) RCPCH, 2007 (This has now been superceded by the 2012 edition)

Emergency care for children and young people in Scotland (2006)

Maximising Nursing Skills in Paediatric Emergency Departments (2010) (PDF, 738KB, 10 pages) produced in conjunction with the RCPCH, this RCN publication is for emergency department managers, lead consultants and lead nurses. It provides detailed guidance on competence development for nursing staff.

Emergency Care Framework for Children and Young People in Scotland (2006) (PDF, 564KB, 52 pages) outlines the Scottish vision for urgent care.

The acutely or critically sick or injured child in the district general hospital - a team response (2006) is a multi-College working group report outlining both overarching principles and more detailed recommendations for the urgent care of children.

Emergency Care Ten Years On : Reforming Emergency Care (2007) (PDF, 521KB, 4 pages) is a report from Sir George Alberti