1) The problem of thinking that the A&E is a clinic seem worldwide.. With school (I'm studying to become EMT-P), I was visiting a new emergency dept the other day. They actually built another A&E for ambulances and "real" emergency. The nurse doing the visit told us that they kept the name "Emergency" for the old one so people would keep going to it as a walk-in clinic.. 2) Sadly, I think you've written the answer why the first GP would not examine her: "because by this time most of the regular GPs would have changed shifts".