The principle behind inpatient health care delivery is that patients must receive care at the lowest level of specialization that can provide adequate treatment, and may be transferred to hospitals with higher levels of specialization only if necessary. Avoiding unnecessary hospitalization has been recognized as a means of improving efficiency, and day care has been fostered through a number of regulations, especially over the past 15 years. Emergency care is built around primary care (family doctors, out-of-hours services), polyclinics, inpatient care facilities (night duty), the National Emergency Ambulance Service, and the Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments of hospitals at different.
