Table 1.

Data on 359 visitis to the Emergency Department

	All visits (359)	Referral letter (196)	Self referral (163)	P Value*
Gender
Women -	192 (53.5%)	106 (54%)	86 (52.7%)	NS
Men –	167 (46.5%)	96 (46%)	77 (47.3%)
Age (years, mean ± SD)	54.1 ± 18.7	55.1 ± 19.0	52.9 ± 18.4	NS
Age distribution
<45	127 (35.4%)	68 (34.7%)	59 (36.2%)	NS
46–65	105 (29.3%)	53 (27%)	52 (31.9%)
66–75	63 (17.5%)	38 (19.4%)	25 (15.3%)
>75	64 (17.8%)	37 (18.9%)	27 (16.6%)
Visit time
Working hours –	214 (59.6%)	143 (73%)	71 (43.6%)	<0.0001
Out of hours –	145 (40.4%)	53 (27%)	92 (56.4%)

* – p Value for comparison between patients with referral letter and self referrals