What will be the costs of a quality emergency service?

The Clinical Standards Advisory Group report on urgent and emergency admissions to hospital identified several important issues regarding emergency care. This paper examines what we know about the costs of a quality emergency service. Estimating the cost of a quality emergency service is not yet possible, but ongoing and future research should be capable of highlighting the costs of important service improvements. It must, however, be recognized that such work by itself will not automatically lead to increased funding within emergency care. Further consideration must be given to the funding arrangements for emergency care if long-term improvements are to be secured.