Calling A&E casualty is ‘archaic and mildly derogatory’, says leading hospital doctor 


  •  Senior director says term belongs in 1970s and is like using word ‘spastic’
  •  Letter from Dr Rob Perry has raised eyebrows with health council chiefs
  •  One of the reasons casualty is seen as a derogatory term by some emergency clinicians dates back to the 19th century

Daily Mail Reporter

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The word ‘Casualty’ is ‘archaic and mildly derogatory’ and should not be used to decribe hospital emergency departments, according to a leading doctor at a crisis-hit health board.

In a leaked memo from inside the health board covering North Wales, a senior director says the term belongs in the 1970s and is like using the word ‘spastic’.

The letter from consultant Dr Rob Perry, an emergency medicine consultant at Ysbyty Gwynedd , has raised eyebrows with health council chiefs.

In a leaked memo from inside the health board covering North Wales, a senior director says the term belongs in the 1970s and is like using the word ‘spastic’ (file picture) 

The directive was sent to staff after Dr Perry found that calls over the loudspeaker for emergency medics were being announced as ‘casualty resus’.

His letter states: ‘The calls are logged in a book along with the exact words used in the call.

‘It appears that every single one of those trauma calls was put out as ‘casualty resus’.

The Associate Clinical Director’s letter says of the term ‘casualty’ that it is an ‘archaic name (it was OK in the 1970s but then so was the word ‘spastic’) and is considered mildly derogatory by most people in Emergency Medicine today.

‘If you really want to know why then I’ll be happy to bore you with the details, but it is.’

He adds that voice calls summoning staff should use the term ‘Trauma Call, Emergency Department’, warning: ‘If there are any complaints or issues with this, then please refer them to me and I will set them right.’

Geoff Ryall-Harvey, chief officer of North Wales Community Health Council, feels the doctor involved should be more sanguine about the terms, rather than firing memos off to staff.

The directive was sent to staff after Dr Perry found that calls over the loudspeaker for emergency medics were being announced as ‘casualty resus’ (file pictures) 

He said: ‘I’ve read the letter and, quite clearly, the correct name for his Department is something this clinician is passionate about.

‘I’d strongly advise the doctor to be a little more laid back about names. The general public will continue to call it Casualty or AE.

‘The term ED has a wider public currency and it’s not commonly recognised as Emergency Department.’

One of the reasons casualty is seen as a derogatory term by some emergency clinicians dates back to the 19th century, where there was a spat between GPs and outpatient departments in hospitals, writes H Guly in his book ‘A History of Accident and Emergency Medicine, 1948-2004’.

Casualties were seen with a GP letter and were considered to be the more minor cases, which also robbed GPs of work.

Those with a GP letter of referral were called ‘outpatients’ and seen as more important.

Later, into the 20th century, casualty departments were seen as the main providers of care for the poor, dealing with emergency and more trifling cases.

Although most people use the term AE or casualty department, the more commonly used medical term is Emergency Department. 

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