Send letter to journal:
Re: What’s in a name? Casualty to Emergency Medicine

Dear Editor

The Specialty of Emergency Medicine has evolved over the last 25 years. During this time it has had to work hard to establish its credentials as being integral to the provision of emergency services. In tandem with this, the name of the discipline has changed from Casualty to Accident and Emergency Medicine to Emergency Medicine. This has also been reflected in the name of the specialty journal.

As Emergency Physicians, we, like our peers throughout the UK continue to try to overcome outdated perceptions of our specialty amongst our professional colleagues. It is regrettable therefore that the EMJ should publish an article[1] containing obsolete terms such as Casualty Department and Casualty Officer. This undermines our progress and hinders future developments.

We believe it should be editorial policy that the only acceptable terms for the departments in which we work are the Emergency Department or the Department of Emergency Medicine.

References (1) Carroll W D, Willis T A. Cardioversion by venepuncture in sustained stable supraventricular tachycardia. Emerg Med J 2002;19:358-9.

Send letter to journal:
Re: Re: Cardioversion by venepuncture in sustained stable supraventricular tachycardia

Dear Editor

I very much enjoyed reading Dr Carroll's two papers in this month's EMJ; however I was disappointed to see the reference to "casualty department" which should be strongly discouraged. My colleagues at Stoke have used the term "emergency department" for many years. I was glad to see the correct terminology used in Dr Carroll's second paper.