Journal of public health
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Journal of public health · Dec 2006
Tropical fish poisoning in temperate climates: food poisoning from ciguatera toxin presenting in Avonmouth.
Ciguatera toxin causes a range of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurological symptoms that occur within 1-6 h of ingesting fish with the toxin and can last for days, months or years. It is a well-recognized problem in the tropics. ⋯ The symptoms were initially thought to be scombroid fish poisoning but were consistent with ciguatera fish poisoning. Cases of fish poisoning from fish imported from the Caribbean and Pacific or travellers returning from tropical countries may be ciguatera fish poisoning, but mistakenly diagnosed as scombroid fish poisoning.
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Journal of public health · Sep 2006
Comparative StudyCan health care financing policy be emulated? The Singaporean medical savings accounts model and its Shanghai replica.
Each nation's government is searching for a cost-effective health care system. Some nations are developing their health care financing methods through gradual evolution of the existing ones, and others are trying to adopt other nations' successful schemes as their own financing strategies. ⋯ However, the MSAs' success in Singapore did not guarantee its Shanghai success, because health care systems do not work alone. Through study of the MSAs' experiences in Singapore and Shanghai, this paper examines whether it is rational to borrow another nation's health care financing model, especially when the two societies have very different socioeconomic characteristics.
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Generic general practitioners' (GPs') referrals to secondary care would facilitate equitable distribution of workload and allow planning to meet access time targets. This study assessed GP's referral patterns across a metropolitan health authority, which has actively encouraged generic referrals. ⋯ Despite encouragement by secondary care and the local health authority, 78% of GPs in the Doncaster area do not make generic referrals. This has to be taken into account in planning service delivery.
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Journal of public health · Sep 2006
A Delphi-based consensus study into planning for biological incidents.
Biological incidents present a significant threat to health services in the UK. The objective of this study was to achieve consensus in all phases of biological incident planning and response. ⋯ The 125 synopsis consensus statements that all phases of biological incident planning and response. These can be used to inform policy decisions and translated into practical guidance for emergency planners and first responders at local, regional and national levels.