A profile of attenders at the A&E Department of the Children's Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin.

The Department of Health state that the prime function of the A&E department is to provide for the reception and initial management of every variety of medical emergency, provided that the condition could not be treated by the General Practitioner. The A&E department in the Children's Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin receives an average of 55,000 visits annually. The study profiled attenders according to their: socioeconomic status; reasons for attendance; appropriateness of attendance; and outcome of attendance. Attenders parents were more likely to be unemployed (22%), single (26%) and GMS card holders (52%) than national average figures. Families who attended out of hours (i.e. after 5pm) and/or who were self-referred did not differ socio-economically from other attenders. 74% of all attenders were self-referred and the self-referred group were more likely to attend after 5pm. 54% of attenders had attended the department more than once in the previous twelve months. 37% of all attendance were due to accidents. Casualty doctors assessed that 39% of all attendance did not require hospital services. However, the percentage of 'GP referred' and 'self-referred' groups deemed to require hospital services were comparable (47% v 38%). Furthermore, only 19% of GP referrals were admitted. These figures suggest that a large number of children who attend the A&E department should be attending a medical paediatric out patient unit, rather than an A&E department.