The Royal College of Emergency Medicine Conference was held in Birmingham recently and attracted more than 1,200 delegates.

Dr Ian Higginson, president of RCEM, launched the conference with a thought-provoking talk on what Emergency Medicine may look like in decades to come.

University Hospitals Plymouth was exceptionally well represented across all professional levels.

Dr Annette Rickard and senior nurse Ali Griffiths delivered a presentation titled “Making Dying Better in the ED”, sharing their approach to supporting patients at the end of life.

Ali also spoke powerfully about the team’s efforts to de-medicalise these experiences, helping patients feel more connected to their loved ones during their final moments, which she described as “giving the patients back” to their families.

They also spoke about empowering ED staff and the changes they have made to reduce admissions for patients in end-of-life care.

Dr Beth Newstead, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, tells us more about the event and the representation from University Hospitals Plymouth.

“Other speakers from Plymouth included Professor Jason Smith, revealing the results of the SWiFT trial (study of whole blood in pre-hospital trauma patients), which has recently been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Along with Laura Cottey, Jason also moderated, chaired and judged events. Dr Daisy Stevens and Sophie Underdown presented “How to turn your ED green: Tips and tricks for getting started.

Elsewhere, UHP had 10 different posters on show, with both Wing Commander Rob James and ACP Anita Cawley being selected as top poster presentations. Anita even got to meet HRH Princess Anne, who was in attendance at the conference to talk about her poster on providing drug users with takeaway naloxone to administer in cases of overdose. “

Dr Newstead also presented her own talk to attendees on “Is your lifestyle your best medicine? ”.