Accident And Emergency

Definition

Accident and emergency (A&E) is the collective term for describing all A&E services including emergency department, A&E department and minor injury units (MIU).

There are three types of Accident and Emergency:

Type 1: Core - Emergency Department. 24/7 Service. Consultant led. Includes full resuscitation and other facilities to treat serious and life-threatening conditions. Emergency departments can also provide treatment for minor injuries and less serious conditions, and some are co-located with a minor injuries unit; it is not possible to accurately differentiate the type of activity in the data.

Type 2: Single Specialty Emergency Department, for example:

• ophthalmology
• dental
• psychiatry
• obstetrics etc.

Type 3: Non-core - Minor Injuries Unit/Other. Dedicated minor injuries units are usually GP or nurse-led. Services may only be available for limited hours and may refer patients onto a Type 1 Emergency Department if more acute care is needed. MIUs are not designed to treat patients with acute medical emergencies, rather to provide advice and treatment for injuries that are not anticipated to be critical or life-threatening in nature. In some, usually rural locations, the MIU is co-located with a community hospital, and a broader A&E service may therefore be available.

A&E services are departments in hospitals which provides services primarily for the reception, assessment, examination and treatment of patients who have been involved in an accident, or have sustained an injury or who have an acute surgical or medical emergency which may require hospital facilities.

Notes

1. An emergency department is a major unit providing emergency medicine consultant-led twenty-four-hour service seven days a week to which the great majority of emergency cases are taken.
2. A&E may be a consultant-led, small unit (may be called a casualty unit) in which services may only be available for limited hours and which may have a limited ability to deal with emergency cases.
3. Minor injuries unit may be a GP or nurse-led unit in which services may only be available for limited hours and may refer patients onto an A&E department or emergency department if more acute care is needed.
4. The clinical responsibility for an emergency department and A&E department lies with the consultant. This responsibility includes advising on the resources required for the establishment and supervision of the clinical services within the A&E department.
5. The clinical responsibility for the MIU lies with the GP or Nurse.
6. An Emergency Department or A&E Department may act as the emergency admissions service for the hospital.
7. An Emergency Department and A&E Department may include an A&E ward, observation beds and an A&E theatre.