Crimes of violence are recorded increasingly frequently, including those involving health professionals. We reviewed records of violent incidents kept for a major Accident and Emergency Department over a ten-year period. Details were recorded in a Violent Incident Book by all grades of A/E staff, and separate records were kept by hospital security officers. A total of 407 incidents were recorde...

Audit is all about improving patient care. Most clinicians are now familiar with the fundamentals of the audit loop, and the question "what do you understand by clinical audit?" can be relied on to appear in specialist registrar and consultant interviews. At its most simple the auditing process involves a critical appraisal of present performance, followed by a process of standard setting. Pres...

When the National Health Service began in 1948 many hospitals, large and small, had casualty departments. These were usually run by experienced and dedicated nursing staff in often inadequate accommodation. Self taught clinical assistants were in overall charge but had inexperienced, often poorly supervised junior medical staff. The departments treated patients, including children, with a wide ...

In a group of 82 consecutive parasuicide patients attending the St George's Hospital Accident and Emergency Department, London, England, 15 had attended the same department within the preceding 6 months. Thirteen of these 15 had also consulted their general practitioner during this time, as had a further 51 parasuicide patients. Only two out of the 82 patients, therefore, had had sole medical c...

OBJECTIVES To compare the clinical characteristics of aortic dissection in Hong Kong with the International Registry of Aortic Dissection, and to evaluate the sensitivity of the Accident and Emergency Department in diagnosing aortic dissection and its role in aortic dissection management. DESIGN Retrospective observational study. SETTING Regional public hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS Newly...

IN VIEW of the great paucity of information about the work of accident and emergency departments, it was decided to undertake a detailed study of all new patients attending the accident and emergency department of the Royal Victoria Hospital over a period of one week. The aims were: (a) to make a critical analysis of the work of the department; (b) to provide figures for planning and developmen...