Some reasons for this include; patient being unfit for treatment dueto illness (e.g. chest infection), having omitted to fast before admission, failingto follow pre-admission advice on medication or where theatre time is unavailabledue to unexpected complications arising in earlier theatre cases.In setting out my initial responseto David Kerr’s report on the future shape of the NHS in Scotland, I madeit clear that I supported his proposals that we should stream planned care, separatingit, where possible, from emergency care.