Variation in general practice referral rate to acute medicine services and association with hospital admission. A retrospective observational study.

Background: Variation in general practice (GP) referral rates to outpatient services is well described however variance in rates of referral to acute medical units is lacking.

Objective: To investigate variance in GP referral rate for acute medical assessment and subsequent need for hospital admission.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of acute medical referrals from 88 GPs in Lothian, Scotland between 2017 and 2020 was performed using practice population size, age, deprivation, care home residence, and distance from hospital as explanatory variables.

A young breathless patient.

A 34-year-old gentleman, with a background of osteoarthritis, presented to the Acute Medical Unit with a short history of breathlessness. He had returned from holiday to the United States five days previously. Since return, he had complained of myalgia, sore throat, a non-productive cough, mild anorexia and fevers at home.

Improving the management and care of people with sepsis.

Many hospitals struggle to implement the full sepsis care bundle, but research suggests that many patients with sepsis are transported to hospital by ambulance. In 2011, the Scottish Ambulance Service introduced a pre-hospital sepsis screening tool (PSST) to expedite sepsis identification and care delivery. However, ambulance clinicians have reported varying degrees of interest and enthusiasm from hospital staff during handover.

The ACUMEN project.

E-learning for healthcare (e-LfH) is a collaborative programme between the Department of Health, the NHS and various professional bodies. It provides high quality, interactive education for healthcare workers, and has been described as 'The most positive development in medical education in 20 years' by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. Indeed e-LfH have recently been awarded the elearning age 2007 Gold award for 'Excellence in the production of e-learning content'.