Carol Hawley discusses the important role nurses play in ensuring patients and their relatives receive adequate discharge information and advice

Head injury accounts for up to 20 per cent of emergency department (ED) attendances (Kay and Teasdale 2001), and approximately 800,000 patients attend UK EDs with head injuries every year (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) 2007a, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) 2009). About 90 per cent of these patients have a mild or minor head injury and are managed in EDs before being discharged home (Swann and Teasdale 1999). NICE in England and Wales and SIGN in Scotland have issued guidelines for the early management of head injury in adults in an attempt to improve clinical practice. This article discusses the important role of emergency nurses, particularly with regard to discharge information and advice for patients, relatives and carers.