The Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The role of the A&E department is to treat patients who have suffered a serious injury or accident, or who have developed a sudden serious illness or medical condition.

The function of the A&E department is to provide prompt and appropriate services to those patients with acute illness or injury. On arrival to A&E patients are assessed, prioritised, and treated in terms of clinical need.

How A&E Unit Works

The primary function of an Accident and Emergency department is to provide immediate attention for people with life threatening conditions; this means that patients with less serious problems will probably have to wait longer for treatment.

Triage

All our patients will initially be seen and assessed by a qualified nurse soon after arrival. This process is known as triage and its purpose is to assess the seriousness of conditions and then ensure that the most seriously ill patients are treated first. You will be allocated a clinical priority by the nurse and, as a result, you may see people who arrived after you being taken through for treatment before you, though this does not mean that you have been forgotten.

Waiting Time

All our staff do their best to estimate how long you will have to wait, but please remember that the workload in A&E is very unpredictable, and waiting times will change if seriously ill patients are brought in. Our staff are working hard behind the scenes and will see you as quickly as they can. If your condition worsens while you are waiting, please do let one of the nurses or reception staff know, so that you can be reassessed.