Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses tiny quantities of radioactivity to produce diagnostic images. It also has a role in therapy for some thyroid diseases and certain tumours. Surveys have shown that nuclear medicine procedures are used significantly less in the United Kingdom than in many other countries ...
This is the second edition of this publication which was published for the first time in 1994. This edition is structured in four parts. The first is a calendar of events in London's health care during 1994, followed by a commentary by the editor. The third section presents the relevant ...
This is a report on a competition held in 1993 by the King's Fund to find excellent examples of large hospital developments which were opened in Britain between 1980 and 1990. The aims for both National Health Service and independent sector hospitals were: to offer a high quality of life ...
The author describes his visit to Zambia to advise on the development of a policy for hospitals at all levels and an approach to implementation. He visited the country from 27 February to 13 March 1994 to see the major types of hospitals. His recommendations for reforms are presented along ...
The author looks at the NHS in London two years after the report of the King's Fund Commission on London and the Tomlinson report and three years before the next general election. Policies shaping the NHS in London have become increasingly controversial. He argues that despite the growing resistance to ...
Reorientating the NHS to be both needs led and responsive to users has to be a joint endeavour for both commissioners and providers. A new synthesis is required to combine the best of personal patient care with a focus on population health. The King's Fund has recognised community oriented primary ...
The Innovation in Medical Education project, based in the Department of General Practice and Primary Care, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry aimed to explore the implications of a substantial move of medical education into the community. The main areas covered were: interviews with a wide range of interest ...
This is the first issue charting the progress of developments in London's health services. Included are: a calendar of events from October 1992 to December 1993; a commentary on the development of the planning process in London including the series of reports from the Government and other professional bodies. There ...
The author describes the health problems of homeless people, concentrating on London, and how services for homeless people could be improved. This could be delivered within the National Health Service in an integrated service. The author also looks at why so few homeless people are registered with a general practitioner; ...
This paper proposes an alliance of charitable foundations, together with Government, to make a distinctive contribution to the way in which health services for Londoners are being shaped. It explains how an investment fund could form the basis of a high profile three year development programme; how it could be ...
This report makes proposals for the statutory registration and regulation of chiropractic to tackle the anomaly that anyone can claim to be a chiropractor in the United Kingdom, whether or not they have undergone professional training. The terms of reference for the report were: `Having regard to the growing public ...
This is a collection of short papers based on a seminar to mark the eighty fifth birthday of Sir George Godber. They examine issues of substantial relevance to the present and future of the National Health Service.
The aim of this unpublished paper is to provide all Londoners with primary and community health services which both meet their needs for high quality health care and which - over time - can appropriately substitute for certain services currently provided in acute hospitals. If Sir Bernard Tomlinson's recommendations are ...
This unpublished paper outlines a process for specialty reviews, following on from the recommendations of the `Report of the inquiry into London's health service, medical education and research' (London : Department of Health, 1992) in which it was recommended that working parties be formed under the direction of the London ...
These guidelines suggest how to produce literature for patients in hospitals which is clear, attractive and readable. The guidelines show what information might be included and how some of it might be written and laid out, but scope is left for managers to design and develop literature according to their ...
The first part of this briefing looks at the implications of the NHS reforms in theory and in practice and presents the six lines of enquiry which might be pursued. The second section discusses the particular impact of the NHS reforms on London which has maintained a very significant number ...
The second edition of 'The Nation's Health' is an extensively revised and updated assessment of trends in health status and public health policy and practice over the last decade. Its wide-ranging scientific analysis forms the basis for developing 17 health priorities and a clearly defined strategy for improving health over ...
The report attempts to review the main issues surrounding the funding and management of units providing dialysis services to people suffering from end-stage renal failure in the UK for the benefit of health service managers, renal physicians and other staff. The objective is to review the experience and information currently ...
This report is concerned with efforts to assure quality in medical care, focussing on quality assurance efforts affecting care provided by doctors and hospitals (and to a lesser extent nursing homes). The study examines quality assurance in Sweden, Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium and England as these represent a range ...
This paper takes a longer term look at the implications of measures to switch from institutional to community care, and the future role of carers. Tentative steps are being taken to forge a new relationship between formal and informal care systems; this report continues the debate into whether these are ...
This book describes in detail the routine administrative tasks that have to be done in hospital after a patient dies and suggests systems which will ensure that the tasks are carried out efficiently. It lays down clear standards for bereavement officers and hospital staff to enable them to provide the ...
The 'keepers' mentioned in the title of this book are workers in prisons, long-stay hospitals, homes for mentally retarded people and other total institutions. Their feelings about their work and about the institutions are presented here in twelve monologues selected from more than 60 interviews with workers in 27 different ...
The care given to a random sample of adults who died in 1987 is described retrospectively by relatives and others who had known them. Most praised, or were satisfied with, the care given by general practitioners but both the statistics and the quotations reveal some disconcerting inadequacies in this care, ...
On 22 June 1988 the DHSS hosted a conference on women's health. This volume contains the papers given by the speakers. The purpose of the day was to provide a forum for dispelling the myths and correcting some of the misunderstandings surrounding women's health. Papers presented included breast cancer, cervical ...
In this book, top clinicians and senior managers in health services from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand write about their experiences in solving difficult problems in a way that ensures that their organisations continue to strive towards quality services. They describe how they try to resolve ...
This paper is not intended as a critique of government policy, but rather as an exploration of the opportunities and constraints inherent in that policy and some of the processes which may be required to put the policy into effect. A fundamental tenet of this paper is that the needs ...
This project paper outlines some of the initiatives undertaken in the field of education and prevention of HIV infection in an area of low prevalence (Northern Ireland) and attempts to adduce some of the factors critical to achieving implementation of the programme, planning for which started at the end of ...
In May 1985, five young men aged between 18 and 21 moved out of Brockhall Hospital (a long stay hospital for people with learning difficulties) to take up the tenancy of their own home in Blackburn. They moved with 9.5 whole-time equivalent health service staff to help them to learn ...
Managers may not be covered by the codes of practice of doctors and nurses but they are having to consider the ethical framework within which they work. This book examines ethical issues in a practical manner. It covers a wide field of concern to managers with responsibilities they have to ...
This report summarises the literature on geographical variations in hospital admission rates in the UK and internationally. It is restricted to studies of inpatient admissions. It concludes that the examination of the variations provides invaluable insights into the nature and extent of medical uncertainty, and that this information is essential ...
This paper looks at the attitudes and behaviour in seeking health care of all the general medical practitioners in one family practitioner area - Avon. The results show that this group of doctors find difficulty in receiving help from other doctors, particularly for conditions to which doctors are most susceptible. ...
This booklet arose out of the work of Brunel ARMS Research Unit at Brunel University. The booklet has been written after talking to many carers, showing the variety in people's experience. The aim of the booklet is to show that a lot of people share the same experiences and difficulties ...
The sixth King's Fund Forum was held in London from 26 to 28 June. Five questions were addressed; what is the relationship between dietary fats, blood cholesterol and the levels of coronary heart disease; what individual or community-wide dietary or other interventions can reduce blood cholesterol levels and the risk ...
These guidelines have been compiled in response to an assessed need from hospitals for help with commissioning arts and artists. It is divided into seven chapters and includes guidance on the need for a committee; choosing a site; the commissioning process; fundraising. Its recommendations are based on 10 years of ...
This report is an evaluation of a ten week scheme by two artists in residency at St John's Hospice, Lancaster. It assesses the effect, beneficial or otherwise, the scheme had on the patients, staff and visitors at the hospice. The report explains the background to the project, then describes the ...
In 1988 the King's Fund covered a multi-disciplinary panel to consider the following questions and to prepare a statement for discussion at a consensus conference: is there scientific evidence that ICUs cause a decrease in morbidity and mortality; what criteria should be set for admission and discharge to intensive care ...
This is a fully revised and updated version of the 1987 edition. It describes applications of DRGs at hospital level and examines their use in policy matters at all levels of health services. It is for everyone interested in and responsible for the way resources are used.
The aim of this project was to discover whether the needs of people whose relatives die in hospital are being met within that setting. Surveys were undertaken to gain the views of both sides, by seeking both the experiences of bereaved relatives, and by ascertaining the procedures and practices of ...
The NHS is a vast and complex organisation, never out of the public eye and now the focus of major political argument. The author examines the way the NHS works and the incentives that motivate everyone concerned - the general public, the health professionals and managers, and the government. There ...
In 1977 an exploration into the use of counselling of visually impaired adult persons began in Richmond Adult College, Surrey, where it continued for 2 years. It moved to the ophthalmic department, King's College Hospital in 1980 and continued until 1987. The author formed a group in Richmond for people ...
This book is based on the first research study to look at the impact on women of a positive cervical smear and subsequent investigation and treatment. It follows their experiences from the initial discovery through to outpatient treatment or inpatient surgery. The authors describe the thoughts and feelings women have ...
This report draws on the work of two meetings. Firstly, a conference of the UK Conference of Postgraduate Deans and the National Association of Clinical Tutors on the present state of postgraduate medical education and training, at which they expressed the urgent need for a more critical examination of current ...
In June 1987 the King's Fund convened the first meeting of a working party on the future shape of paediatric surgery in the four Thames regions, with special reference to Greater London. The working party was composed primarily of paediatric surgeons. This document is their report. The emphasis is on ...
The fifth King's Fund Forum was held in London on 27-29 June 1988. Five questions were addressed: 1) What are the responsibilities of service providers for patients and their carers? ; 2) For presumed stroke sufferers what has been shown to be of diagnostic value? ; 3a) What treatments have ...
The philosophy of 'an ordinary life' has been the basis of a wide range of local initiatives, and increasingly influences large-scale changes in community care. This book includes contributions from seventeen people who as users, innovators and evaluators have been involved centrally in these developments. They review current practice in ...