Taj Hassan is the immediate past president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. With consultant posts unfilled and more and more patients presenting to the emergency department what does the future look like for the specialty? Can we avoid the vision of smoking spires and desolate wastes?

In this weeks COVID Catch up the challenge of “unrequited stress’ is discussed. We’ve moved from a phase of decision drowsiness (fatigue from the unrelating demands of busy clinical shifts) into one of engagement exhaustion. Constant (often virtual) meetings with no obvious end in sight until the pandemic abates.

Erica Donovan rounded out our session on paediatric oncology with this talk about the late effects of paediatric cancers. When we think of cancer we think about making the diagnosis, the chemotherapy, the radiotherapy, the operations. Very rarely do we think of the impact of an essentially chronic disease that has taken a chunk of…

In this week’s COVID Catch two great blogs are highlighted; one from Critical Care Consultant Laura Rock on not answering “Feelings with Facts” and why this is relevant during the pandemic and one from PICU Consultant Miriam Fine-Goulden exploring how its important to hold onto the positives of COVID as well as the negatives.

COVID has brought with it a reduced flow in paediatrics for now. And many paediatricians are feeling guilt or worry about not being able to contribute in the way our Adult colleagues are currently. Damian explores this, and also how we deal with those who do present to ED during the pandemic.