Table 4.

Reasons for attendance at the ED in BDBP participants (n = 306)

General Reasons for ED Attendance	TOTAL
The ED is the best place for my problem	70%
I’m unaware of other services to treat me for this problem	30%
My family told me to come to the ED	12%
I don’t know what other services are open at this time	7%
It is easy for me to get to the ED	6%
I attended the ED before and I was happy with it	6%
I think I will be seen quicker here than at any other service	6%
I usually come to ED with a medical problem	5%
I could not afford to go anywhere else	2%
Specific Reasons for ED Attendance	TOTAL
I consider this condition to be an emergency	48%
I thought I needed an x-ray or scan	31%
I thought I might need to go into hospital	29%
I need reassurance that my illness/injury is not serious	23%
I wanted to see a doctor or a nurse as soon as possible	20%
I came to the ED to get a second opinion	11%
I thought I might need a blood test	9%
I wanted to see a specialist	7%
I thought I needed the wound treated	4%
I thought I might need a tetanus injection	3%
I am on a waiting list and I thought this would speed it up	1%
Other Reason E.g. GP Referral	23%

^aThese questions in the survey allowed for multiple responses

^bSimilar questionnaire responses were combined for the purposes of analysis (e.g. suspected fracture/X-ray required)