TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2004//
TI  - Regional surveillance of accident and emergency department attendances: experiences from the West Midlands
JO  - Journal of public health (Oxford)
A1  - Downing, A.
A1  - Wilson, R.
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EP  - 
VL  - 
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N2  - Information is collected on every patient that attends accident and emergency (A & E). However, there is currently no central collection of these data. In 1999 it was decided to collect data on all A & E attendances in the West Midlands region. All 21 hospitals with 24 h A & E departments were asked to submit data to the Surveillance Centre at the University of Birmingham. To date, 19 hospitals have submitted data but the formats vary leading to a substantial amount of data processing. There are several limitations to the data set, for example a lack of information on the reasons for attendance. Despite this, routinely collected A & E data have great potential for surveillance and the data have been used in original research and to guide local policy. The West Midlands system is the largest source of A&E data in the United Kingdom. This information is of use to a wide range of organizations.
LA  - 
SN  - 1741-3842
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdh190
ID  - ref1
ER  -