Accident and emergency departments now treat more patients than all other outpatient clinics combined. This paper traces the development of this service since the inception of the National Health Service in 1948. The Bruce Report published in 1971 is seen as the turning point in the creation of the new specialty of accident and emergency medicine. This, together with the introduction of a senior registrar training programme, has resulted in significant improvements. Current developments in undergraduate education, postgraduate training and research in emergency work are described and international aspects of emergency care are discussed.
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David Wilson (1980) studied this question.