Presenting Complaint

Change History
DSCN (2009) 02 (W)	Emergency Department Data Set

This data item is / was included in the following data sets / collections between the dates shown:

Data Set / Collection	Valid From	Valid To
EDDS	1^st April 2009
AWISS

This is the presenting complaint with which the patient attended the Accident and Emergency Department.

Format: 255 Free Text

This data item is incorporated into the Emergency Department Data Set as the injury prevention orientated field in accordance with the All Wales Injury Surveillance System (AWISS) requirements. These fields are designed to be compatible with the European Union's Injury Data Base (IDB).

AWISS offers the opportunity on a local, national and international level to:

• Monitor injury incidence, trends and geographical variation;

• Provide data on problem areas where other information sources are insufficient (such as head injury, sports injuries, accidental poisoning in young children).

Help the NHS, local authorities, voluntary agencies and other workers in the field to develop, target and evaluate programmes for the control and prevention of injuries.