RCEM Standards

Welcome to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Standards page. Here you will find resources including clinical sign off and information on sepsis. Use the navigation bar below to see more. 

The clinical standards for Emergency Departments (EDs) below have been produced by the Quality in Emergency Care Committee of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (CEM). The standards are developed by consensus from emergency physicians with relevant expertise and with input from other relevant stakeholders. The standards are regularly reviewed and provide the criteria for RCEM audits.

RCEM Clinical Standards

Current RCEM Clinical Standards 

  • Click here to download document.

A comprehensive review of existing standards was undertaken in 2011/12. The clinical standards are for the management of the following conditions in the ED:

  • Asthma
  • Cognitive Impairment in Older People
  • Dislocated Shoulder 
  • Feverish Children
  • Fitting Child  
  • Fractured Neck of Femur 
  • Head Injury in Adults (under review)
  • Hand Injury
  • Mental Health 
  • Pain 
  • Paracetamol Overdose
  • Spontaneous Pneumothorax in Adults
  • Radiology (under review)
  • Recording of Adult Vital Signs in the Majors and Resuscitation Areas of the ED 
  • Renal Colic in Adults 
  • Retention of Urine in Adults
  • Safeguarding Children
  • Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock in Adults - see more here
  • Sepsis and Meningitis in Children
  • Additional reference documents regarding clinical standards are available to download below:
  • Standards for Children and Young People in Emergency Care Settings, [third edition] 2012
  • Consultant Sign-Off (revised June 2016)
  • Unscheduled care facilities (2009) - Minimum requirements for units which see the less seriously ill or injured

​Additional reference documents regarding clinical standards are available to download below:

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