Dr James Ray is Emergency Medicine Consultant at Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Governance Lead for NHS 111 in Oxfordshire. His main current interest is to improve the urgent care pathway by making it as accessible as possible without compromising safety and effectiveness to improve the patient experience. His aim is to spread out the workload across services, encourage team working throughout providers and continue to develop the workforce needed for the ever-increasing demand. James is an advocate of all doctors and nurses, from all backgrounds, whether primary or secondary care, working together with the sole aim of providing the same goal which is to put the patient first. Such idealism, he says, is the key to success of the NHS. “As an Emergency Medicine Consultant, I understand and feel the constant pressure on the front door of the hospital,” says James. “It is the ED Consultant’s responsibility to make sure all patients arriving in the department are safely seen, treated and either referred or discharged within a four-hour target.” How difficult is this to achieve? What is really happening to our Accident and Emergency units and what can be done to face the NHS’s many challenges. Join James in conversation with Humphrey Hawksley on The Goldster Magazine Show at 1pm Tuesday May 7th 2024.