Out-of-district attenders: the passing trade of an accident and emergency department.

The resources of accident and emergency (A&E) departments are often required to treat patients who are not within the catchment population of the local health authority. An assessment of workload caused by this particular group was carried out over a 2-month period at Northampton General Hospital which serves a population of 318,000. Details were collected and analysed on the patients' reason for attendance, investigations and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]