Matthew Cooke and colleagues describe their study of minor injury services in England

It has been suggested that a large number of patients attending A&E departments could be treated equally as well in primary care or minor injury services (Dale and Dolan 1996). New models of care have arisen in different parts of the country to care for those with minor injuries. In 1994, the NHSE concluded that there was significant potential for cost savings and improvement in efficiency by developing minor injury services (NHSE 1994).