Communicating decisions about care with patients and companions in emergency department consultations.

Patients and caregivers voluntarily participated in data collection and consented to video recordings being conducted of ED consultations between them and junior doctors. There was extensive consultation with all grades of staff about the acceptability of the work and the best way to conduct it to minimize the impact on patients and staff. Through this manuscript, we have demonstrated the presence and important role of companions. On reflection it would have been valuable to have included patients and companions in discussions about the work; however, this project was conducted with very limited funding and no resources were committed to patient and public involvement. Given the setting and scope of the study, it was not feasible to involve patients or members of the public in other stages of the research or preparation of the manuscript. We recognize this as a potential limitation of the work.