BMJ : British medical journal
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To determine the distribution and scope of nurse practitioner schemes in accident and emergency departments in England and Wales; to describe the caseloads of doctors and nurse practitioners on two representative days; and to estimate the number of patients managed by nurse practitioners in the year to 31 March 1991. ⋯ Designated nurse practitioner schemes are rare. The volume and range of nurse practitioner work in major general accident and emergency departments is small compared with those in specialised and minor accident and emergency departments.
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To observe the effects of introducing an acute pain service to the general surgical wards of a large teaching hospital. ⋯ The introduction of an acute pain service to the general surgical wards led to considerable improvement in the level of postoperative pain as assessed by visual analogue scores. Simple techniques of regular pain assessment and the more frequent use of intramuscular analgesia as a result of using an algorithm were particularly effective.