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July 20, 2026

Beyond plumbing: the multidisciplinary ultrasound assessment of shock and hypotension in the emergency department

The management of shock is a time-critical challenge in emergency medicine and critical care. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has revolutionised this paradigm, offering rapid, non-invasive bedside assessments. Recognising its diagnostic power, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine formally mandates ‘ultrasound-assisted shock assessment’ as a core competency. However, shock is a profound systemic derangement requiring more than […]

Dr Nick Mani, Dr Gokul Sagar Bailur

POCUS UK

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July 24, 2026

We are working on it: building a sustainable governance model for point‑of‑care ultrasound

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is now used widely across acute, community and primary care settings, supporting earlier clinical decision making and improving patient flow. As its use expands, imaging networks and clinical services increasingly recognise the need for a more consistent, governance led approach that aligns POCUS with wider diagnostic priorities. This is not […]

Dr Kalpana Lakhani

Independent clinical ultrasound consultant

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July 20, 2026

Focused POCUS for chest pain

This article explores the role of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the assessment of patients presenting with acute chest pain. Traditionally associated with areas such as abdominal imaging, POCUS is increasingly being used by clinicians in emergency and acute care settings to help identify or exclude several life-threatening causes of chest pain. The author emphasises that […]

Dr Chris Yap

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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July 29, 2025

Point-of-care ultrasound for suspected testicular torsion: are we nuts?

Traditionally, ultrasound scans are performed in the radiology department. However, ultrasound’s many advantages – such as portability, lack of radiation, repeatability and speed of interpretation – have made it attractive to multiple healthcare settings and specialities. In a modified, focused and less detailed way, ultrasound can be utilised as a rapid bedside diagnostic test, so-called […]

Nick Mani, Julia Burkert-Milone

POCUS UK Group, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, University College London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

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July 29, 2025

Poke the paunch with POCUS: gastrointestinal ultrasound in emergency medicine

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) continues to revolutionise the evaluation of abdominal complaints in emergency and acute settings. Its real-time diagnostic potential, portability and noninvasiveness make it a powerful tool in the clinician’s arsenal, particularly when gastrointestinal (GI) pathology is suspected. This article aims to highlight the clinical reasoning, technique and diagnostic markers that underpin effective gastrointestinal […]

Dr Anna Colclough, Dominic Craver

Lewisham Hospital

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January 16, 2025

The magic cauldron: ingredients to transition ultrasound from teaching undergraduate anatomy to postgraduate POCUS

Integrating ultrasound into undergraduate medical curricula in the UK remains a hard nut to crack. While UK medical schools are making progress, there is no standardised undergraduate medical ultrasound curriculum and we are considerably behind the USA and Europe. As a new medical school, we were able to consider the essential ingredients to include in […]

Debs Patten, Kate Duholery, Borsha Sarker

Professor Debs Patten, Dr Kate Dulohery, Borsha Sarker

University of Sunderland Medical Centre

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January 16, 2025

Are hand-held ultrasound devices ready for prime time?

There are growing numbers of specialists practising ultrasound independently of radiology departments, termed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). It is becoming increasingly integrated into standard clinical assessment by clinicians in order to improve patient care in different healthcare settings. Ultrasound machines have become more advanced and compact, with many potential clinical applications to accommodate such practice. There […]

Nick Mani

POCUSUK Group; Chesterfield Royal Hospital; University College London

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August 14, 2024

Pre-hospital POCUS by London’s advanced paramedic practitioners in critical care

The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is the single emergency medical service provider for the Greater London regions, serving a population of 8.2 million distributed throughout an area of 1,579km2. Approximately two million 999 calls are received each year and more than 3,000 patients are attended each day. Emergency calls received by the LAS […]