British medical journal (Clinical research ed.)
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Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) · Aug 1986
Findings of a national survey of the role of general practitioners in the treatment of opiate misuse: dealing with the opiate misuser.
Because there has been a substantial increase in the scale of drug misuse general practitioners have become increasingly concerned in responding to this problem. Little is known, however, about how general practitioners manage drug misusers. The findings from a national survey carried out in mid-1985 of a 5% random sample of general practitioners in England and Wales show the extent to which various actions were undertaken by general practitioners who reported on the consultation with the opiate misuser whom they last attended. ⋯ Opiate drugs had been prescribed in nearly a third of cases. The rate of notification to the Home Office conforms with that in other studies and indicates a high degree of undernotification. More detailed study of general practitioners' activities in managing drug misusers is needed.
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A survey of obstetric anaesthetic services in the Yorkshire region, where about 44,500 deliveries take place annually, showed that inadequacies exist in the service to patients. A 24 hour epidural service is available in only nine of 19 consultant units, and in about seven units patients may have to wait up to half an hour for an anaesthetist to be available for an obstetric emergency. Additional consultant anaesthetic sessions are urgently required as well as centralisation of some units.