Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit 2021 (SAMBA21): assessing national performance of acute medicine services

Introduction: The Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit 2021 (SAMBA21) took place on 17th June 2021, providing the first assessment of performance against the Society for Acute Medicine’s Clinical Quality Indicators (CQIs) within acute medical units since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: All acute hospitals in the UK were invited to participate. Data were collected on unit structure, and for patients admitted to acute medicine services over a 24-hour period, with follow-up at 7 days. Results: 158 units participated in SAMBA21, from 156 hospitals. 8973 patients were included. The number of admissions per unit had increased compared to SAMBA19 (Sign test p