Clinical
An investigation
<p>Attendance in A&E has continued to rise by 2 per cent annually since 1981. In 1996, 15 million visits were recorded in England and Wales to a cost of £600 million (Audit Commission 1996). This increase has not been met with significant expansion in resources, leading to increased waiting times, patient dissatisfaction and stress for staff (Steel 1995 and Carew-McColl and Buckles 1990).</p>
