In 2010, 44% of all public consultations were held in emergency services (43.5% in hospitals and 56.5% in health areas), out of which 60% turned out not to be actual emergencies. As a comparison, non-urgent visits to an emergency department (ED) accounted for nearly 12% of all ED visits in the United States, 20% in Italy, 25% in Canada, 31% in Portugal, 32% in Australia and 56% in Belgium. The CCSS introduced a national initiative to tackle lengthy waiting lists in April 2014.