- Email: [email protected]
First year of new French blood transfusion service
pilot study to assess can other educational activities such as suitable forums for reading journals be assessed? in the UK The Standing Committee on Posteducation. Home-based education and participation in conferences at home and graduate Medical and Dental Education’ abroad will be included. The RCS will has addressed these issues, including The prospect of a formal structure of coneducation in the UK is medical tinuing begin a countrywide exercise in January, funding, in a working paper.’ It recomThe colto take 1995, in which all fellows of the college mends that the National Health Service royal shape. beginning to work with will be asked to participate. The college and trust managers should link with posthave closely agreed leges one another and to have similar goals hopes that in 1996 participation will graduate deans and royal colleges to become essential for all fellows. : ensure that continuing professional develand standards. From the standpoint of to as whether the the royal colleges, a point system seems However, scepticism opment strategies are established through scheme will work abounds. One reason is contracts. It also recommends the exploto be the best way of measuring clinician funding. Should clinicians pay for courses ration of the possibility of coordinating of participation. The idea is that points allotted by one college for a particular that are mandatory? Several other quesfunding strategies. item of education would be acceptable to tions were brought up at a conference the other colleges in a reciprocal agreeheld by the Royal Society of Medicine last ment. week. Should colleges have the right to Clare Thompson The Royal College of Obstetricians and single out clinicians who have not gath1 Continuing professional development for ered the required number of points in the Gynaecologists is the most advanced in its doctors and dentists. 1994. Pp 40. Available set time? Should the postgraduate deans plans. It has a system whereby members from Standing Committee on Postgraduate are expected to accumulate 200 credit and clinical tutors be involved? Is there Medical and Dental Education, 1 Park Square West, London NW1 4LJ. points over 5 years. The Royal College of any evidence that schemes work and how
Continuing medical
education
Mental-health counted
Surgeons
has
ways of
identifying
set
up
a
deprived areas in England. Information census week together with 53 incidents of gathered included the normal number of sexual harassment. beds in a unit and the number that had to: None of these findings is new or even be set up to cope with the overflow of particularly surprising. What they do represent is the first tentative steps towards patients from the designated beds. Participating psychiatrists also had to count how quantifying the state of mental-health sermany should have been admitted but vices. Some of the indicators are, by the
care
The Royal College of Psychiatrists this week published quantitative data confirming the poor state of inner London’s mental-health services. The research was could not be, and the number who in the funded by members of the college, and clinician’s opinion had had to be disthe resulting data are, according to college charged prematurely to make way for a more urgent admission. registrar Prof Chris Thompson, "impossi: ble to get from any official source". : The mean true bed occupancy, which Health-service data that are available was defined as the number of patients are inadequate, crude, out-of-date, and who were receiving or who needed inpa"almost certainly incomplete and inaccutient care on the census day, was 130% rate", say the project group. (range 102-160). Of the 1236 Data for this study were collected by recorded as being inpatients in admission consultant psychiatrists for a week in June units on the census day, 50% were being on services covering a combined catchdetained under the Mental Health Act, a ment population of 2-6 million people, figure much higher than the national averwhich included some of the most socially age. There were 105 assaults during the
patients
admission of the group, crude. But the wants to collaborate with the Department of Health in the future; they want to repeat the study, perhaps at sixmonthly intervals, to analyse whether the promised changes in mental-health care group
are
happening.
Sarah 1
Ramsay
Monitoring inner London mental illness services. Available from Dr Paul Lelliott, Research Unit, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 11 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X 7EE, UK.
the topics identified in the 1993 report isFirst year of new French the health of adolescents. : Black and ethnic minorities and theirblood transfusion service Britain’s strong primary health-care sys- : access to health care was an issue tem makes it a good source of data on identified in the 1991 report. Last year a The disease in the community. Such data form reorganised transfusion service has task force was set up to recommend one of the two sources from which the confirmed a drop in the use of therapeutic action to improve health services for these substances derived from human UK’s chief medical officer draws informablood, tion to give an overall picture of the preva- minorities. The results have been the attributed to the changing attitude of lence of disease in the community.’ In:setting up of an ethnic health unit within prescribers and the impact of new surgical MSGP-4, the fourth of a series of studies the National Health Service Management techniques. However, its first annual of general practitioners (GPs) and their Executive; an extra 500 000 (on top of report also says that the fall in donations, patients, data on patients on the registers C800 000) for initiatives by local organtogether with units that have to be of 60 general practices in England and isations ; a highlighting of the importance rejected because of viral infection, have Wales were collected for the period . of ethnicity in general policy developled to a shortage of products such as antibetween Sept 1, 1991, and Aug 31, 1992. ment ; monitoring of the health and Rh immunoglobulin. The plasma prodethnic minorities; and a programme to ucts Consultation rates per 10 000 persondivision is still facing legal promote equal opportunities in the NHS proceedings arising out of contamination at risk were years highest for asthma for staff from ethnic minorities. of products with HIV and hepatitis C (425), essential hypertension (412), neurotic disorders (344), contact dermatitis viruses. Only an increase of 7% in the and eczema (203), and ischaemic heart . price of fresh blood products has kept the disease (170). Full results of MSGP-4 areVivien Choo blood transfusion centres from financial crisis. expected soon. :1 Department of Health. On the State of In his annual reports the chief medical Public Health 1993. London: HM officer identifies several issues for special Stationery Office. 1994. Pp 213. £16.25. ISBN 0-11-321820-6. follow-up in subsequent reports. One
Britain’s health
of
J-Y Nau
881
Continuing medical
education
Mental-health counted
Surgeons
has
ways of
identifying
set
up
a
deprived areas in England. Information census week together with 53 incidents of gathered included the normal number of sexual harassment. beds in a unit and the number that had to: None of these findings is new or even be set up to cope with the overflow of particularly surprising. What they do represent is the first tentative steps towards patients from the designated beds. Participating psychiatrists also had to count how quantifying the state of mental-health sermany should have been admitted but vices. Some of the indicators are, by the
care
The Royal College of Psychiatrists this week published quantitative data confirming the poor state of inner London’s mental-health services. The research was could not be, and the number who in the funded by members of the college, and clinician’s opinion had had to be disthe resulting data are, according to college charged prematurely to make way for a more urgent admission. registrar Prof Chris Thompson, "impossi: ble to get from any official source". : The mean true bed occupancy, which Health-service data that are available was defined as the number of patients are inadequate, crude, out-of-date, and who were receiving or who needed inpa"almost certainly incomplete and inaccutient care on the census day, was 130% rate", say the project group. (range 102-160). Of the 1236 Data for this study were collected by recorded as being inpatients in admission consultant psychiatrists for a week in June units on the census day, 50% were being on services covering a combined catchdetained under the Mental Health Act, a ment population of 2-6 million people, figure much higher than the national averwhich included some of the most socially age. There were 105 assaults during the
patients
admission of the group, crude. But the wants to collaborate with the Department of Health in the future; they want to repeat the study, perhaps at sixmonthly intervals, to analyse whether the promised changes in mental-health care group
are
happening.
Sarah 1
Ramsay
Monitoring inner London mental illness services. Available from Dr Paul Lelliott, Research Unit, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 11 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X 7EE, UK.
the topics identified in the 1993 report isFirst year of new French the health of adolescents. : Black and ethnic minorities and theirblood transfusion service Britain’s strong primary health-care sys- : access to health care was an issue tem makes it a good source of data on identified in the 1991 report. Last year a The disease in the community. Such data form reorganised transfusion service has task force was set up to recommend one of the two sources from which the confirmed a drop in the use of therapeutic action to improve health services for these substances derived from human UK’s chief medical officer draws informablood, tion to give an overall picture of the preva- minorities. The results have been the attributed to the changing attitude of lence of disease in the community.’ In:setting up of an ethnic health unit within prescribers and the impact of new surgical MSGP-4, the fourth of a series of studies the National Health Service Management techniques. However, its first annual of general practitioners (GPs) and their Executive; an extra 500 000 (on top of report also says that the fall in donations, patients, data on patients on the registers C800 000) for initiatives by local organtogether with units that have to be of 60 general practices in England and isations ; a highlighting of the importance rejected because of viral infection, have Wales were collected for the period . of ethnicity in general policy developled to a shortage of products such as antibetween Sept 1, 1991, and Aug 31, 1992. ment ; monitoring of the health and Rh immunoglobulin. The plasma prodethnic minorities; and a programme to ucts Consultation rates per 10 000 persondivision is still facing legal promote equal opportunities in the NHS proceedings arising out of contamination at risk were years highest for asthma for staff from ethnic minorities. of products with HIV and hepatitis C (425), essential hypertension (412), neurotic disorders (344), contact dermatitis viruses. Only an increase of 7% in the and eczema (203), and ischaemic heart . price of fresh blood products has kept the disease (170). Full results of MSGP-4 areVivien Choo blood transfusion centres from financial crisis. expected soon. :1 Department of Health. On the State of In his annual reports the chief medical Public Health 1993. London: HM officer identifies several issues for special Stationery Office. 1994. Pp 213. £16.25. ISBN 0-11-321820-6. follow-up in subsequent reports. One
Britain’s health
of
J-Y Nau
881