A FIRST ATTENDANCE is the first or only attendance for the same incident, which may be an injury or occurrence of a condition; a follow-up attendance is a visit to the same department for the same incident as the first visit within the episode. If a PATIENT has a recurring condition, such as epilepsy, or a tendency for joints to dislocate, there would be a new FIRST ATTENDANCE each time that the PATIENT presents with the condition.

A subsequent attendance may not always be a follow-up attendance. It could qualify as an attendance at a consultant out-patient clinic and if so, it needs to be recorded appropriately.

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY ATTENDANCE CATEGORY CODES