BMJ 2002;325:901 ( 19 October )

Letters

When is an emergency department not an emergency department?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Recently, a young couple, equipped with backpacks and bedrolls, walked into our local accident and emergency department at about 11 pm, climbed into sleeping bags, and set their alarm clock. Early next morning, roused by their alarm, the couple rolled up their bags and left.

What was the explanation for this behaviour?

It was not careful preparation for attending a department in which the waiting time can often be eight hours or more. The young couple, who lived in Surrey, had booked a holiday that started with a morning flight from Stansted Airport. Rather than get up at 4 am to get from Surrey to Stansted, they had worked out that it would be easier to spend the night nearer to the airport, and that our emergency department would be the safest (and cheapest) place in which to do this.

This curious but true story may raise a laugh, but . . . [Full text of this article]
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