"...and I can't help feeling that by booking in all we are doing is re-inforcing the idea that you get special treatment in A&E if you go there by ambulance." I think what he was trying to say was that many people still think that because you have arrived at hospital in an Ambulance you will receive preferential treatment over those who have got themselves there under their own steam..... I still have to explain to people on a daily basis that just because you arrive in a big white taxi doesn't mean you will be seen straight away, or get a bed even..... but no-one seems to understand this no matter how many times you tell them