The specialty responsible for assessing the immediate needs of acutely ill and injured people. Urgent treatment is provided where necessary; if required, the patient is admitted to an appropriate hospital bed. Every part of the UK has nominated key hospitals with appropriately trained staff and necessary facilities to deal with acutely ill or injured patients. It is well-recognised that prompt treatment in the first hour or so after an accident or after the onset of an acute illness – the so-called ‘golden hour’ – can make the difference between the patient's recovery and serious disability or death.

Attendances at A&E departments are rising year on year, especially following the reduction in the out-of-hours commitment of general practitioners. NHS targets, increasingly missed since 2013, mean patients should be dealt with within 4 hours of arrival.

A&E Medicine is a relatively new specialty in the UK. The first A&E consultant was appointed in the NHS in 1967; now there are over 1,300. A Royal College of Emergency Medicine was founded in 2008 to set standards of training and to administer exams.