Welcome to the online community of the RCN's Emergency Care Association (ECA)

The ECA represents the professional interests of staff working in a wide variety of settings where emergency, urgent or unscheduled care is provided. This includes those working in emergency departments, minor injury units, ambulance services, NHS walk-in centres, armed forces nursing services, NHS Direct, NHS 24 and primary care out-of-hours services. The ECA also supports the work of the RCN Minor Injuries Group.

If you're not yet a member of the ECA, what are you waiting for? RCN members can join up to three forums free of charge, and benefits include regular e-newsletters from the forum keeping you up to date on topics such as good practice and forthcoming events. Each forum also has its own area on the RCN's Discussion Zone where you can network with others in your specialty. To join just call RCN Direct on 0345 772 6100 - option 1.

This is the area of the RCN’s website for all nurses and allied healthcare professionals involved in, or interested in emergency care. The ECA committee have worked hard to bring you an online community that is the most comprehensive emergency care nursing website in the UK.

This is your community and we want you to help us shape it with ideas, information and innovation. We are keen to make this more than just an information portal, we want it to become a thriving community where emergency care staff across the world share ideas and information. So get involved and contact us with news of study days, conferences, new developments and share your best practice/policies/procedures with others.

Contact us and share your ideas by sending an email to eca@rcn.org.uk.

What's new

RCN contributes to new standards for older people receiving emergency care

The RCN has helped draw up draft standards designed to improve care for older people in emergency settings. The College was one of several organisations invited by the Department of Health to review emergency care for older people, who are nearly 10 times more likely to have an emergency admission than those aged 20 to 40.

The RCN Emergency Care Association has contributed to the draft standards, which were written by a working group drawn from the College of Emergency Medicine, the British Geriatrics Society, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and the Royal College of Physicians, as well as the RCN. A joint statement (PDF 142KB) [see how to access PDF files] highlights the important part nurses can play in ensuring high quality, compassionate care for older people.

Jim Bethel, from the RCN Emergency Care Association, said the standards aim to improve outcomes for older people in emergency care. "Nurses have a key role because they are the one constant presence at the bedside," he said.

The standards will be published shortly.

National Audit Office report on major trauma critical of trauma care in England

A National Audit Office report indicates that major trauma care has not improved in the last 20 years, despite numerous reports identifying poor practice.

You can find the report at the National Audit Office, and a response from the RCN below:

RCN calls for better co-ordination of trauma networks

Commenting on the Major trauma care in England report, published today (5th February) by the National Audit Office, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

"It is disappointing that trauma care is still not up to scratch in many areas despite numerous calls for improvement. It is well-known that specialist centres offer the best chance of recovery to trauma patients, however, by simply improving communication and co-operation between hospitals, survival rates would be boosted.

"To give trauma patients the best chance of survival, it is important that all nurses and healthcare staff, including those who do not specialise in trauma, have the training and skills to deal with serious injuries should the need arise."