A&E

A&E is an American TV cable network, initially focused on the fine arts and documentaries. A&E is part of the A&E Networks, which today includes other channels such as History and Lifetime.

A&E is also an abbreviation for “arts and entertainment,” which is where the cable network gets its name. You’ll see this term used in education, criticism, and written publications to describe creative works, such as books, movies, music, art, video games, drama, and poetry.

In the UK, A & E is most often used as an abbreviation to mean “accident and emergency.” While it is often spelled with spaces within the term, you will also see it without (A&E), especially in casual writing.

A & E refers to the accident and emergency department of a UK hospital. In the United States, it would be called the emergency room, or ER. You would visit the A & E when you need immediate treatment for serious or life-threatening illness or trauma or other medical emergencies.

Example: When my mother had a bad fall, I immediately called an ambulance to take her to the A & E for help.

The first records of the abbreviation A & E to mean “accident and emergency” come from around the 1960s. The A&E Network was formed in 1984 through a merger of the Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS) cable service and The Entertainment Channel. The company launched the Arts & Entertainment Network channel, commonly referred to as simply A&E, that same year.

The emergency medicine department at UK hospitals was initially called casualty or the casualty ward. The casualty ward mostly treated patients who needed emergency surgery or were in life-threatening condition. Beginning in 1960s and 1970s, the National Health Service (NHS), the national organizational body of medicine in the UK, reorganized its emergency services to be more inclusive and stringent and changed the name to A & E. While some people still refer to a hospital’s A & E as “casualty,” others will refer to it as the “ER.” Whatever it’s called, you can be glad there are doctors and nurses available to help you in an emergency.

What are some words that often get used in discussing A & E?

• television
• cultural
• injury
• life-support
• life-threatening

When A & E is spaced out, it most often refers to “accident and emergency” and when it isn’t spaced out, it usually refers to “arts and entertainment,” particularly the television channel.

Reporting on ⁦@GMA⁩ about the new ⁦@JanetJackson⁩ documentary coming to A&E this Friday. pic.twitter.com/uEjFaQDArn

— Deborah Roberts (@DebRobertsABC) January 25, 2022

Daughter has bumped her head and is in A&E – currently seven ambulances queuing outside and a six hour wait. Feel terrible for adding to the burden, but would equally pay for not taking up the spot for someone who isn’t as fortunate. Tricky

— Will Guyatt (@willguyatt) June 6, 2021

Is A & E used correctly in the following sentence?

I came into the A & E for my annual checkup and the doctor said I am healthy.