Users to the Emergency Department pay a basic 'Attendance, Assessment & Advice Only' fee, which is tiered according to the time they attend.
In addition to this basic fee, one of four defined tiers of 'Consultation Fee' will be added to the total service fee incurred by a user if specialist treatments/procedures are required. The categories reflect the different levels of resource that are required to effectively manage the healthcare issues presented by an ED user and might range from a simple bandage, to a very complex support care package, for example in respect of treating the often multiple clinical care issues relating to the effective treatment of a road traffic victim.
This charging structure puts in place a set fee (determined by one of the four Consultation Fee categories), which covers the cost of all the treatment an ED user requires.
