ABSTRACT
In the UK, children under the age of 14 years make up 25-30 per cent of all attendances at general Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments, with around 40 per cent of the child population seen yearly. A substantial proportion of these are under 5 years old. Two broad categories of attendance are seen:
injuries, poisoning and medical emergencies (70 per cent)
non-acute medical, surgical or orthopaedic conditions (30 per cent).
