Landmarks in the development of the specialty

Casualty Surgery/Accident & Emergency Medicine/Emergency Medicine

 

Definitions from the Shorter Oxford Dictionary

Casual “Occurring unpredictably; irregular”

Casualty  “A chance occurrence; an accident; a mishap; a disaster.  A person killed or injured in war or accident”

Accident   “An event that is without apparent cause, or unexpected; an unfortunate event”

Emergency “A situation, especially of danger or conflict, that arises unexpectedly and requires urgent action”

 

1952 Mr Maurice Ellis, first full time Casualty Consultant in England, appointed to the General Infirmary at Leeds.

1953 Senior Casualty Officer grade created to provide experienced medical supervision in Casualty Departments.

1962 Report by Sir Harry Platt recommends change of name from Casualty to Accident & Emergency Departments.

1967 First meeting of the Casualty Surgeons Association (CSA) at BMA House.  Maurice Ellis was in the chair.  Most of the other members were non-consultant Senior Casualty officers.  All 10 who attended the first meeting had surgical backgrounds.

1968 First AGM of CSA in Walsall, near Birmingham.

American College of Emergency Physicians founded.

1972 30 Consultant posts established as an experimental pilot, creating a new specialty in the UK - Accident and Emergency Medicine.  Specialty is called Emergency Medicine in most other countries where it is practiced.

1975 Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) in Accident and Emergency Medicine formed under auspices of Joint Committees in Higher Medical and Surgical Training.  SAC based at Regent’s Park (RCP) and CSA at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (RCS). 

1978 First Senior Registrar appointments approved by the SAC in A&E Medicine (several individual posts were actually filled from 1976 onwards).

Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians established.

1981 Australian Society of Emergency Medicine formed.

1983 Emergency Medicine Research Society established as an independent body to foster research in the specialty.  First meeting at Royal Station Hotel, York.

First diet of FRCSEd examination in Accident & Emergency Medicine and Surgery (became MRCSEd (A&E) subsequently.  The final diet was in 2009).

1984 Australasian College of Emergency Medicine established.

1985 British Accident & Emergency Medicine Journal and Archives of Emergency Medicine adopted as CSA journals.

1986 First International Conference on Emergency Medicine, held in Brighton.

1990 Mr David Yates appointed in Manchester, to first professorial chair in A&E Medicine.

After many vigorous debates, CSA agrees name change to British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine (BAEM).

1991 Intercollegiate Board on A&E Medicine established with representation from BAEM, RCPLond, and RCSEng. RCPEd, RCSEd, RCPSGlas, RCPI, RCSI, RCoA.

International Federation for Emergency Medicine established (first members are ACEP, ACEM, BAEM and CAEP).

1993 Inauguration of Intercollegiate Faculty of A&E Medicine on 2 November at RCSEng.  Faculty has 6 “parent” colleges:  RCSEng, RCPLond, RCSEd, RCPEd, RCPSGlas, and RCoA.  Dr David Williams is first president.

EMRS is absorbed by the Faculty.

BAEM continues with responsibility for professional and clinical matters, while Faculty is to develop academic and training issues.

1994 European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM) founded, initially as individual membership body.

1996 First diet of specialty examination of the Faculty of A&E Medicine (FFAEM).

Faculty is granted coat of arms by the College of Arms.

1998 SAC in A&E Medicine becomes Joint Committee on Higher Training in A&E Medicine under auspices of FAEM. 

2000 Journal is relaunched as Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ).

2001 AGM of BAEM approves considering the establishment of a College of Emergency Medicine in conjunction with FAEM.

2003 First diet of examination confirming eligibility for entry to Higher Specialist Training in EM, Membership of the Faculty of A&E Medicine (MFAEM).

2004 BAEM drops the “Accident” becoming British Association for Emergency Medicine (initials unchanged). 

A UK Statutory Instrument formally changes the name of the specialty from A&E Medicine to Emergency Medicine (also known as Accident & Emergency Medicine).

2005 Faculty and Association each vote unanimously at General Meetings for the two bodies to merge and form a College.

A Merger Board is formed to work out the practical details. 

EuSEM forms Federation of national EM societies in Europe.

2006 Faculty of A&E Medicine becomes College of Emergency Medicine (CEM) on 1 January. Mr Jim Wardrope is first president of CEM.  The College is the authoritative body for Emergency Medicine in the UK and the Republic of Ireland (where it works alongside the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine).

College and Association move to new shared accommodation in Churchill House, Red Lion Square, Holborn. 

College no longer constitutionally linked to “parent” colleges. 

FFAEM diploma becomes FCEM, MFAEM becomes MCEM.

College of Arms authorises transfer of Faculty coat of arms to CEM.

2007 40 years since establishment of CSA.

EuSEM now affiliated with 24 national societies in 23 European countries.

2008 College and Association formally merge on 29 February to become a new body, The College of Emergency Medicine, incorporated by Royal Charter. 

On 1 October, HRH The Princess Royal graciously presents the Charter to Mr Jim Wardrope.

Further reading:

“A history of Accident & Emergency Medicine, 1948-2004” 

by Henry Guly, published Palgrave MacMillan, 2005