Emergency Departments (A&E)

On arrival

If you’ve been brought to one of our emergency departments by an ambulance, the crew will give your details to reception and hand you over to the clinical staff.  

However, arriving by ambulance does not always mean you'll be seen sooner than if you had walked into ED. 

If you’ve made your own way, you will need to register when you arrive. You'll be asked a few questions, such as your name, address and why you came to one of our emergency departments.   

Checking in when you arrive at our Emergency Department

Queen Elizabth Hospital Birmingham 

If you are visiting Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, you will need to register your arrival on one of our eTriage digital kiosks. The kiosk will prompt you to enter information that will help us register your attendance with us. It will also ask you about your condition. This information is then given to our clinical team before you are seen by a triage nurse.  

If you are too unwell to enter your information at the kiosk, if you have learning difficulties, or if you are unable to use the kiosk for any other reason, please speak to a member of the reception team and they will take your information and register you.  

Good Hope Hospital & Heartlands Hospital 

If you are visiting the emergency department at Good Hope Hospital or Heartlands Hospital, you will need to register with reception as soon as you arrive.  

If you need help in another language, including British Sign Language (BSL), you can ask the reception team for an interpreter. 

It is important to understand that patients are seen by our clinical team in the order of their clinical need. This may mean that a patient who arrived in the waiting room after you is seen before you.  

Getting an assessment (triage)

Once you have registered, you will need to wait until you are called for your assessment. 

All patients are assessed by a doctor or nurse before any treatment takes place. This is called triage. Triage helps our team to work out what order to see patients in, so they can see the most seriously unwell people first. 

Treatment, transfer or discharge

What happens next depends on the results of your assessment. 

If you are seriously unwell you will be seen by a doctor, you may also be referred to a specialist or admitted to a ward or assessment area if necessary. 

If you do not need to be seen in the Emergency Department, you might be sent to a nearby urgent treatment centre or referred to a GP. 

In other cases, you might be asked to make an appointment with your GP surgery to request a GP referral. 

Some people may also be asked to return to another department, sometime called a ‘hot clinic’ somewhere else in the hospital on another day, or you may be given a prescription and sent home, with instructions on what to do next.