abstract: In October, the emergency admissions ward at Southampton general hospital is being moved to a new area and we are using the opportunity to re-think procedures. I have drawn up a short questionnaire consisting of yes and no answers concerning admission documentation and patients' length of stay. The questionnaire is already being piloted at one hospital. Would any trained staff working on an emergency admissions ward be willing to participate in our study? An SAE will be enclosed and information will be seen only by tine senior clinical nurses working on the unit. We hope to be able to publish some results of this survey later on.