Latest news with #emergencymedicine
Free Malaysia Today
7 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Head of HKL's emergency dept is new health DG
Mahathar Abd Wahab (right) receiving his letter of appointment as health director-general from chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar. (Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA : The head of Hospital Kuala Lumpur's emergency and trauma department has been appointed the new health director-general effective tomorrow. Chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said the King had given his consent to the appointment of Mahathar Abd Wahab, 56, to the post. Mahathar graduated from the University of St Andrews in Scotland with a bachelor of medical science before obtaining a bachelor of medicine and surgery from the University of Manchester and a master of medicine (emergency medicine) at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Shamsul said Mahathar was first appointed as a health ministry medical officer on Oct 1, 1996. Mahathar takes over as health director-general from Radzi Abu Hassan, who retired earlier this month.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New ED consultants will strengthen under pressure workforce, says minister
The health minister has said the recruitment of up to 26 emergency medicine consultants will help stabilise and strengthen the healthcare workforce in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health said some of the consultants are already in post, with the others set to begin in their roles across all five health trusts by the end of the year. It said funding for the new posts comes from reducing spending on locum doctors in emergency departments and that it comes as part of work to find roles for newly-qualified consultants in the health system. Mike Nesbitt said everyone was "acutely aware of the very significant pressures" on emergency departments. "Both staff and patients want us to do all we can to alleviate those pressures and that's been a central focus for my department and trusts in recent months." He added that, at a meeting with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) last year, he recognised that it was "incongruous" for Health and Social Care (HSC) to train emergency medicine doctors but then have no vacancies for them, while also "spending around £30m a year on locum cover for emergency departments". Prof Lourda Geoghegan, deputy chief medical officer, said she was "very encouraged" by early reports on the impact of the new consultants, who had not only helped reduce locum spending but also increased the "presence of senior decision-making in emergency departments". Dr Russell McLaughlin, vice chair of RCEM Northern Ireland, said its research showed there was a critical shortage of emergency medicine consultants, with only half the recommended number in place. "The need for expansion is clear," he added. "It's vital our departments have these senior decision makers, who are qualified and ready to step into these roles, which are critical for patient safety." Northern Ireland's emergency departments have been under severe pressure for years. On New Year's Eve figures showed that more than half of the 892 people who attended emergency departments (EDs) had to endure a wait of more than 12 hours. Figures released by the Department of Health (DoH) revealed that there was a 7.6% increase in hospital attendances over a 12-month period, with 63,347 attendees in December 2024 compared to 58,875 in December 2023. Dr McLaughlin said the situation in EDs was "deteriorating" as the health service "pushed through" another "hugely challenging winter". The figures showed that the number of ED attendees waiting more than 12 hours in December 2024 was 12,281, an increase from 10,597 in December 2023. The number of patients discharged or admitted within the target of four hours was highest in October 2024 (45.6%) and lowest in December 2024 (40.6%). Compared to December 2023, fewer people (-1.4%) spent under four hours in emergency departments, which had a figure of 42%. ED situation 'deteriorating', NI doctors warn Emergency departments have no space, says doctor 'We're at breaking point' - says ED doctor
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
New ED consultants will strengthen under pressure workforce, says health minister
The health minister has said the recruitment of up to 26 emergency medicine consultants will help stabilise and strengthen the healthcare workforce in Northern Department of Health said some of the consultants are already in post, with the others set to begin in their roles across all five health trusts by the end of the year. It said funding for the new posts comes from reducing spending on locum doctors in emergency departments and that it comes as part of work to find roles for newly-qualified consultants in the health Nesbitt said everyone was "acutely aware of the very significant pressures" on emergency departments. "Both staff and patients want us to do all we can to alleviate those pressures and that's been a central focus for my department and trusts in recent months."He added that, at a meeting with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) last year, he recognised that it was "incongruous" for Health and Social Care (HSC) to train emergency medicine doctors but then have no vacancies for them, while also "spending around £30m a year on locum cover for emergency departments".Prof Lourda Geoghegan, deputy chief medical officer, said she was "very encouraged" by early reports on the impact of the new consultants, who had not only helped reduce locum spending but also increased the "presence of senior decision-making in emergency departments".Dr Russell McLaughlin, vice chair of RCEM Northern Ireland, said its research showed there was a critical shortage of emergency medicine consultants, with only half the recommended number in place."The need for expansion is clear," he added."It's vital our departments have these senior decision makers, who are qualified and ready to step into these roles, which are critical for patient safety." Emergency department pressures Northern Ireland's emergency departments have been under severe pressure for New Year's Eve figures showed that more than half of the 892 people who attended emergency departments (EDs) had to endure a wait of more than 12 released by the Department of Health (DoH) revealed that there was a 7.6% increase in hospital attendances over a 12-month period, with 63,347 attendees in December 2024 compared to 58,875 in December McLaughlin said the situation in EDs was "deteriorating" as the health service "pushed through" another "hugely challenging winter".The figures showed that the number of ED attendees waiting more than 12 hours in December 2024 was 12,281, an increase from 10,597 in December number of patients discharged or admitted within the target of four hours was highest in October 2024 (45.6%) and lowest in December 2024 (40.6%).Compared to December 2023, fewer people (-1.4%) spent under four hours in emergency departments, which had a figure of 42%.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctors say when they hear this 10-word sentence, it's a 'hidden' red flag - have YOU ever said it?
A simple ten word sentence uttered by patients may be one of the clearest warning signs they are suffering a 'serious illness', medics have claimed. Doctors have taken to social media to reveal the 'clinical pearl' that can nearly 100 per cent guarantee a serious illness—from heart attacks to cancer. According to doctors, the sentence 'I feel fine, but my wife made me come in', is one of the most accurate predictive markers of something being seriously wrong. Dr Sam Ghali, a US-based emergency medic, who has over 650,000 followers on X, said that this common phrase 'is an indication that something is really f****** wrong until proven otherwise.' 'Trust me on this one', he added. Commenting on the post, other doctors added other 'giveaway' phrases that they believe are red flags for serious health conditions. In thread on the original post on Reddit, one doctor said: 'Along the same lines, beware the sweet old lady who "Doesn't want to be a bother, but...".' Agreeing that hearing a patient say this phrase is a major cause for concern, another doctor said: 'I once took a phone consultation in GP from an old lady with hours of chest pain. She said she just didn't want us to worry...' Another indication of a serious illness or medical emergency is 'a mother's intuition', doctors claimed on Reddit. 'Last week was the last time I questioned a mother's intuition', one professional said. 'She said her college-aged child with no pre-existing conditions just seemed to be off. Her child showed no signs of depression or suicidal ideation and just as we were about to discharge them he stroked,' the doctor added. It comes just days after a coroner found a baby who died at just three days old would have survived if medics hadn't ignored the multiple warning signs she was in distress in the hours before her tragic death. Dan Russo and his pregnant wife Bryony begged for a caesarean section to be carried out when they arrived at the maternity unit as they knew something was wrong. But, staff 'laughed off' their concerns and ignored the mother's intuition, despite red flags including scans showing an abnormal foetal heart rate. Baby Emmy was not breathing when she was finally born by emergency C-section 11 hours after the couple turned up at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex. She died in her father's arms three days later at the neonatal intensive care unit of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where she had been transferred for urgent care. Speaking after an the inquest, Mr Russo said: 'We are completely broken by the loss of our beautiful baby girl, Emmy. 'She was our child, so loved, so wanted, and we will never understand where things went so tragically wrong. 'We did everything that we were told, we followed the advice we were given. But deep down we knew something wasn't right. We voiced our concerns again and again but we were dismissed.' Addressing the hospital staff directly, he added: 'I shook the hands of the people that played a part in the death of my daughter. 'If you had done your job properly and noticed what everyone else had noticed, our daughter would be with us today.'
CNA
11-05-2025
- Health
- CNA
Work It Podcast: Self-care tips when your job gets too stressful
Tight schedules, endless tasks and demanding expectations – these are the daily realities for many working professionals. Emergency medicine physicians and authors Dr Adaira Landry and Dr Resa Lewiss share practical strategies on how to stay well despite busy lives. Here's an excerpt from the conversation: Gerald Tan, host: There's this one tip, one micro skill that's in the book about offloading routine tasks that bring you no joy or purpose. Many Singaporeans will want to rehearse that conversation because they can't wait to get things off their responsibility, but they don't know how. They don't know how to speak to their bosses about it, they would just suffer in silence. So tell us, how does that practically work out? Dr Adaira Landry, co-author and emergency medicine physician: It's very important for us to make it clear that we are not referring to the core roles of your job, I have given many lectures on this exact topic. We should have a sense of happiness, a sense of purpose, a sense of growth when we're doing work right, and if you're not having that, then perhaps the work you're doing is not right for you. And inevitably, every single time I give this lecture, someone more senior raises their hand and says: "Are you telling people to quit their job? Because if I hired you for something and you tell me you're not going to do it because it doesn't bring you joy, I can't keep you there." And so I think that's a big, very important distinction ... What we're referring to is different. These are a lot of the more optional tasks that still fill our plate, that still cause mental overwhelm and burden. I have used ChatGPT as well for navigating conversations in anticipation for having it. And so there's all sorts of ways you can do it. The idea, though, is to make sure that the thing you are quitting or leaving behind is not something that would actually keep you from keeping your job. And if that is the case, that's an important discussion for you to have with your personal "board of directors". So the way I do it typically is if there something I don't want to do, I think about the stakes of this. Like, is this something where if I say no or I quit, my supervisor would be upset or disappointed? It would impact my salary, my promotion? Dr Resa Lewiss, co-author and emergency medicine physician: There's a really good graphic in the book where we talk about automating, delegating, and there are a few others, and some things can just be taken off the plate. And so certain things, certain tasks can be automated, certain things can be delegated.
