The ABC of community emergency care: the system of assessment and care of the primary survey positive patient.

Correspondence to: Mr J Wardrope, Accident and Emergency Department, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK; [email protected] _________________________ E mergency situations cause stress, especially if they are unfamiliar or present new and different challenges. Specific life threatening medical emergencies may only be experienced by most practitioners a few times in their career 2 and even experienced clinicians require training and practice to maintain confidence and skills. Using a system of care and assessment will improve consistency. This article aims to set out a system of assessment for the patient with emergency care needs. It can only offer a framework, proper application will require training, flexibility, common sense, and experience.