Ian Higginson

I will be pausing activity on this account but please find me on LinkedIn or wherever I end up, and RCEM will still be active on other social media platforms.

Here’s my personal spot on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/ian-higgins…

New analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine reveals that there were 4,757 deaths associated with long A&E waits before admission in England last summer (1 June to 30 September 2025). Watch @RCEMPresident with ITV’s @BeccaBarry here: itv.com/news/2026-01-2…

Our statement on the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, which is being debated in the House of Commons today: rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

RCEM have long argued that transparency is desirable over long ED waits: we have to FOI to get real 12 hour data to inform our advocacy during the year. The mythbuster: The dishonest metric the disguises the true extent of long A&E waits hsj.co.uk/daily-insight/…

Today @BBCNews has been looking in-depth at the issues facing our NHS. Thank you to the Emergency Departments who have opened their doors to show the scale of problems our members, their colleagues and patients are facing. rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

📢 We’re inviting the EM community to share personal stories, reflections, or lived experiences as a blog or video. Your voice helps strengthen understanding and inclusion across EM. 📝 Read our blogs: rcem.ac.uk/rcem-blog/ 📥 Submit your story: surveymonkey.com/r/XK25WGQ

Recognition of RCEM fellows in the NY honours list linkedin.com/posts/royal-co…

Dr Vicky Price from SAM on a difficult subject: are we doing the right thing by our patients?

It’s been brutal out there in many EDs … rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

The sight of patients on trolleys in corridors is heartbreaking. As an A&E doctor, I see daily how it compromises dignity and care. I am pleased that this Government is committed to ending it and I look forward to working with them so that everyone gets the care they deserve.

The ease in pressure on EDs over the festive period must be replicated throughout the year in order to get the hospital system back on track. That's our key message in response to NHS England’s latest situation report, published today (8 January), which covers 28 December-4 January. They showed that bed occupancy, delayed discharges and ambulance handover times have all degraded significantly. Read our full response here: rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

Fantastic to see Alison Walker recognised for her contributions: thoroughly deserved. wmas.nhs.uk/former-medical… @RCollEM @OFFICIALWMAS

We’ve been pushing against the normalisation of corridor care today across several media outlets. It isn’t inevitable, but it needs political will and good leadership to fix. Maybe in 2026 …?

If you want to know what health and social policy failure looks like: it’s patients receiving end of life care in ED corridors because there are no beds, and no other options. It’s not just one organisation … this is a peek into everyday reality. @rcollem bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

Time to be Scrooge. Now the strikes are behind us that-which-shall-not-be-named is about to start … although I don’t hear the same level of concern being expressed …

The dire state of corridor care and overcrowding in Northern Ireland’s EDs has been revealed following a new survey of lead consultants. Carried out on the morning of 8 December, across all nine all ages EDs, it revealed staff are dreading coming to work, departments are over capacity with patients being cared for in non-clinical areas, and there’s no resuscitation spaces. Read more, including recommendations to address the crisis, here: rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

"So-called ‘corridor care’ can only be stopped in the corridors of power" That's the message we hope MPs will take from the festive greetings cards RCEM has sent every single sitting member in the country. Read more here: rcem.ac.uk/press-release/…

The APPG on Emergency Care’s report on corridor care, complied by The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, contains a raft of recommendations to address the crisis in Emergency Departments. The Health and Social Care Secretary has agreed to meet to discuss the report. Have you read it? If not, read it here: rcem.ac.uk/press-release/… @APPGEmgcyCare @DrRosena

Perhaps the current focus on the vulnerability of our emergency care system could provide the final wake-up call needed to focus on it once we’ve got through this crisis. We were already in trouble, with no road map out, and ignored in the budget. Time to reconsider priorities?