Dr Ian HigginsonClinician

Biography

Dr Ian Higginson is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, with a sub-specialty interest in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, and is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Plymouth with an academic and teaching practice in clinical leadership and professionalism. He trained initially as a GP before transitioning to emergency medicine, and has volunteered with BASICS Devon providing pre-hospital immediate medical care since 2006, as well as working with Cornwall Air Ambulance since 2018. He formally became President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) on 11 September 2025, having previously served as one of its Vice Presidents; his appointment was ratified by the College's Council in January 2025. He is a prominent public advocate on emergency department crowding, NHS workforce sustainability, corridor care, and violence and aggression against ED staff.

References

1. 1.New RCEM President takes office – RCEM — Confirms Dr Higginson formally became RCEM President on 11 September 2025, succeeding Dr Adrian Boyle, and his prior role as Vice President
2. 2.RCEM announces next President – RCEM — Confirms appointment ratified January 2025, his GP and Emergency Physician background, paediatric EM interest, Plymouth University academic role, and policy focus on crowding, workforce and standards
3. 3.Dr Ian Higginson on overcoming challenges in emergency medicine – Hospital Healthcare Europe — Details his clinical background, his arguments on ED crowding, workforce shortages, investment in capacity and social care, and his call for long-term structural reform
4. 4.Doctor made Royal College of Emergency Medicine President – Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust — Confirms his consultant role at University Hospitals Plymouth, Cornwall Air Ambulance work since 2018, and BASICS Devon volunteering since 2006

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• A&E & ambulance response

Stated areas of expertise

• Emergency department crowding
• EM workforce sustainability
• Paediatric emergency medicine
• Corridor and trolley care
• Pre-hospital and community emergency care
• Clinical leadership and professionalism

Notable achievements

• Formally became President of RCEM on 11 September 2025, succeeding Dr Adrian Boyle at the College's Annual General Meeting, having been ratified as President-Elect by the College's Council in January 2025. Source ↗
• Led RCEM lobbying that secured NHS England's commitment to publish A&E performance data for each individual hospital for the first time, announced in November 2025. Source ↗
• Holds an Honorary Associate Professor post in the Faculty of Health at the University of Plymouth, with a focus on clinical leadership and professionalism in Emergency Medicine training. Source ↗
• Has worked with Cornwall Air Ambulance as a doctor since 2018, alongside his NHS consultant role at University Hospitals Plymouth. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “The study "reinforces that the shameful practice of corridor care is endemic in emergency departments in the UK". He added that "The stark picture this paper paints reflects the stories we hear from our members nationwide – the volume of which are growing as we head into winter."”

  President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Corridor care ‘endemic’ in UK, doctors say as study reveals scale of problem ↗

• “Emergency departments across the UK are "in big trouble" owing to the way corridor care has been "normalised". If we had 16,000 patients a year dying in bus crashes or in aircraft crashes or anywhere else there would be such howls of outrage something would be done about it. The solutions are to make hospitals more efficient; to provide more staff to beds in hospitals and to improve community-based and social care so that patients can leave hospital where they need to.”

  President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · A&Es in ‘big trouble’ because of ‘normalised’ corridor care, says leading UK medic ↗

• “This is a symptom of the healthcare system not working as it was designed to. Just like our EDs [emergency departments], our colleagues in primary and community services are at capacity when their services are open, but those services often aren't open when patients need them.”

  President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccups ↗

Source references

1. Corridor care ‘endemic’ in UK, doctors say as study reveals scale of problemtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. A&Es in ‘big trouble’ because of ‘normalised’ corridor care, says leading UK medictheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccupstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggesttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
5. Nearly 3,000 NHS patients a day receiving corridor care in England, figures showtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/RCEMpresidentpublished here ↗
• Staff pagehttps://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/ian-higginson
• Press office emailcommunications@rcem.ac.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.