Pettinger N
Health Serv J. 2001 Nov 22;111(5782):20-1.
The rise in emergency admissions has been 2-3 per cent over the last 20 years and shows no sign of abatement. Medical emergencies account for most of the increase Emergency admissions should be divided into short and long stays. This type of analysis shows that the bulk of the increase in emergency admissions has been for short-stay patients. Better understanding of emergency admissions should help hospitals improve their ward distribution.