Managing emergency admissions is no longer the first priority

EDITOR,—Further to Richard Hobbs's editorial on the increasing numbers of emergency medical admissions,1 I write to highlight another problem associated with the delivery of acute services. The white paper Working for Patients clearly stated that “emergency treatment should be available immediately and without question.”2 It is self evident that managing emergency conditions should be the first priority of any system of health care, but I contend that the changes …