Yorkshire & Humber, January 2023
Sally-Anne Wilson, January 30, 2023
This is the first newsletter from the Yorkshire & Humber board that is being shared out of region, so I thought I would say a bit about us here in ‘God’s own county’. We have a population size similar to that of Scotland, and cover coastal, rural and urban populations. We have affluent areas and areas of significant deprivation. There are 20 EDs in Y&H, and our board has representation from most, but not yet all of these departments. Our board first met in November 2021. We have strong EMTA and ACP representation, an EMSAS rep and several SAS members. If you are interested in representing your department, get in touch! We are also looking for a lay rep and a new vice chair (link to the voluntary positions).
What do we get up to? The board meets quarterly. Board meetings allow us to discuss what is going on in the region, I then report back to the RCEM council. It is also an opportunity for us to get to know more about the activities of RCEM policy team, exams team etc and about campaigns such as RespectED. We can access region-specific data, most recently regarding wellbeing and the trainee survey. We have a WhatsApp group that we share updates and educational opportunities, that your reps can then share with the local teams.
We have produced regional newsletters and hosted a regional learning and networking event in association with the Y&H Improvement Academy https://www.improvementacademy.org/programmes/emergency-care/ in June 2022. I host an EM clinical directors’ forum at least quarterly. We are having a RCEM morning at regional HST teaching in February, and are planning our second regional event, this time, in association with the Faculty of Emergency Nurses https://fen.uk.com/…look out for regional comms for further info!
As with the national experience, the pressures in our EDs over December and the festive period, were intense. The moral injury from working in such crowded departments is undeniable. As a board, our main focus over the quarter has been to promote an improvement in staff wellbeing. Analysis done for RCEM on the January to June 2022 data from 87% (the wellbeing app), has been broken down by region. This suggests that as a region, this is an area we need to focus on and improve.
Work related stress is a particular area of concern. Although the national picture shows an 8% increase in stress, we are definitely outliers. Staff who reported high levels of work stress were 3.4 times more likely to experience anxiety and depression. The PIPP project explores the link between work pressures and retention and recruitment, and gives some areas that we can consider to improve in our own departments. https://youtu.be/uhV8ec_fh9M We need to look at shift patterns, the staffing numbers and skill mix to meet the current demands in a system that has lack of flow. We need to look after each other and value all of our staff!
I have written, on behalf of the board have to the chief nurses and medical directors of all the trusts across the region, sharing the data and urging them to engage with their ED staff to focus the wellbeing of the staff to improve staff retention and patient safety. Please engage in constructive dialogue with your departmental and trust and deanery leaders to explore the issues you experience locally and develop improvement programmes.
We have a letter template available to those of you in Y&H to send to your local MP to highlight the issues (contact me). Please use the 87% app, as you may not only find it helpful, but also allow us to track any changes in the region.
If you would like to join us on a walk on Ilkley Moor (baht ‘at) on Sunday 26th February, get in touch! If this proves popular, we will continue with walks around the region, open to all Y&H ED staff.
Sally-Anne Wilson
Chair of the Y&H regional board of RCEM
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