A first shot in the war on emergency department overcrowding

President's Letter

CJEM 2001;3(2):81

Based on member feedback and the goals set out in our 1998 strategic plan, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) Board of Directors has taken on new advocacy initiatives on behalf of the Canadian emergency medicine community. In recent years, CAEP members, the CAEP Standards Committee and the CAEP Board of Directors have done an enormous amount of work in the development of position statements and guidelines that we hope are of assistance to you in your daily practice.

Emergency department (ED) overcrowding, one of the most challenging issues in Canadian emergency medicine, has become a nationwide crisis, affecting millions of patients as well as most emergency physicians and nurses. Last fall, CAEP began to develop a position statement on ED overcrowding, signalling a new, more political direction for the CAEP Board. This position statement was developed in collaboration with, and with the full support of, the National Emergency Nurses Affiliation (NENA).

Last fall, CAEP began to develop
a position statement on ED overcrowding,
signalling a new, more political direction
for the CAEP Board.

On December 14, 2000, the CAEP / NENA Joint Position Statement on Emergency Department Overcrowding was released at a nationwide press conference and forwarded to all national and provincial health ministers, as well as the CEOs of major hospitals across Canada. The CAEP Board will continue to campaign at a national level on this issue, and we would appreciate feedback and examples of local initiatives as we all address this difficult problem.

This issue of CJEM includes the CAEP / NENA joint position statement (see page 82). We hope you will use it to raise awareness and to lobby for necessary change at a local, regional and provincial level.