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