The first thing that happens when you arrive at A&E - and even before when paramedics contact A&E from ambulances - is that you are assessed into one of the following categories:
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Immediate resuscitation - immediate treatment needed to save life
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Very urgent - seriously ill or injured, but not in immediate danger
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Urgent - serious A&E problems but stable
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Standard - standard A&E cases, but without immediate danger or distress
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Non-urgent - not true accidents or emergencies or people with old injuries.
This assessment is known as triage - which is simply the French word for sorting. It is the triage scale given above which determines how quickly you are seen, along with the number of patients in A&E at that time.
Emergency care centres (EECs) treat adult patients with acute medical illness, such as heart attack or stroke, and has a minor injuries service (for injuries such as fractures and sprains) for all age groups.
Not all EECs are open 24 hours a day.
Sometimes you just need to see a doctor, dentist or social worker outside of their normal open hours.
