Emergency department Emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident & emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of patients who present without prior appointment; either by their own means or by that of an ambulance. The emergency department is usually found in a hospital or other primary care center. Due to the unplanned nature of patient attendance, the department must provide initial treatment for a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, some of which may be life-threatening and require immediate attention.
South Tipperary General Hospital department. The hospital saw 1,178 live births in 2008. The hospital provides 318 beds, of which 217 are in-patient beds, 25 are designated for day cases, 25 for emergency department patients, and 2 for labour ward admissions, while a further 49 are reserved for psychiatric patients. Specialty services include general medicine, general surgery, dermatology, accident and emergency, oncology, palliative care, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry.< The national median waiting time for surgery in November 2009 stood at 1.1 months; at South Tipperary General Hospital this figure was 0.7 months. Overall waiting time was 0.7 months, above the national median