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 an initial responseto Professor David Kerr’s report Building A Health Service Fit For The Future,I made it clear that I supported his proposals that we should stream planned care,separating it, where possible, from emergency care.