Why do people go to the AE?

Mike Walsh introduces a four-part series on the factors influencing accident and emergency attendance by considering the attendance trends in Bristol Royal Infirmary A&E department in 1988. Important findings include objective evidence of increases in assault injuries associated with excessive alcohol intake at nights and weekends, and a disturbingly high rate of patients who register at A&E but do not wait to be seen by a doctor. The implications of these and other findings will be discussed in future papers in the series.