Tweets from the emergency department
BMJ 2013; 346 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f54 (Published 09 January 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;346:f54
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Margaret McCartney in “Tweets from the emergency department” makes an excellent point when she says “patients could have thought that they were being described” when generic tweets were sent by NHS Trusts. Greater Manchester Police took a similar line, at a time of large budget cuts and it did so to highlight the way the public sector as a whole was working together to tackle society's issues and problems1. Perhaps the tweeting Trusts could have focussed on the excellent quality care given at a particularly challenging time rather than pointing the finger at or potentially ridiculing individuals viewed as not urgent or warranting attention.
For several years now at The University of Glasgow we have instructed medical students on the safe use of social networking sites. Hospitals and several professional bodies, including the RCGP, are issuing guidance for members. Professional ethics of acting in the common good, having moral courage and having regard for clients, patients and service users, underpin our actions, and in the absence of explicit guidance on the use of social networking sites, give us a framework for expressing our concerns in non-prejudicial and constructive ways.
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8064031/Manchester-...
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Tweets from the emergency department
Some NHS hospital A&E (accident and emergency) departments are under threat of closure. This national Twitter campaign targeted “local people” – presumably in anticipation of the launch of a major review of urgent and emergency services in England. [1]
1. Wise J. Review of emergency care in England is launched. BMJ 2013;346:f392. (18 January.)
Competing interests: No competing interests