Critical Mass: Resuscitating urgent care in a post-pandemic world

In May 2023, the European Society of Emergency Medicine surveyed its members about the safety of the emergency departments they worked in.\r\n90% responded that at times the ‘number of patients in their ED exceeded the capacity of the department to provide safe care', and that ‘overcrowding was a regular, serious problem'. \r\nIt's not just clinicians feeling the strain. The same study found that in a post-pandemic world, many patients avoid emergency departments out of fear for their safety.\r\nIn an ideal scenario, emergency care would be the last resort, but over the past four years, it has morphed into the front line - a sombre showcase of systemic health service failures. It's the melting pot where all of a system's failings converge, creating a situation as unsafe as it is untenable. \r\nBut in this frenetic environment, new approaches are emerging. Changes to patient flow, prioritisation and discharge are married with tech to lessen the burden, pool resources, and improve the journey for patients and staff alike.\r\nWith emergency care attendance on the rise across countries, ambulance services stretched, and workforce numbers stalling, how can we return emergency care to being the last resort, rather than the front line?