Schizophrenia: shifting the balance of care.

Schizophrenia poses a major challenge to policy makers in health and social care in England. As deinstitutionalisation has progressed, public concern about people with the condition has increased owing to a small number of public incidents. This paper describes the overall balance of care or support for people with schizophrenia, particularly between different settings and the services received.

The prevalence of stroke in those at home and the need for care.

This paper highlights the severity of disability, social context and care needs of stroke survivors living outside of institutional care. It provides an estimate of the prevalence of stroke in the community, and offers an operational rationale to purchasers of community care services.

Use of operating theatres: the effects of case-mix and training in general surgery.

Details of theatre occupancy times for a surgical unit in a district general hospital and associated cottage hospital were recorded over a 4-month period. The average time of the procedures individually and reclassified within the BUPA schedule showed that both the severity of the procedure and the grade of surgeon influenced future theatre needs. For almost every type of procedure, as expected, consultants were quicker than registrars, who in turn were faster than SHOs.

Occupation and blood pressure.

Australian-born men in low-status occupations have, on average, higher blood pressures than those classified as professional or technical workers, according to the results of a national survey carried out by the National Heart Foundation and the Commonwealth Department of Health, Australia, in 1980. The expected correlations between age, alcohol consumption, body mass, and blood pressure were found. The association between occupation and blood pressure persisted after statistical adjustments for differences in age, obesity, and self-reported alcohol consumption.

The cost of health care and health insurance in Australia: some problems associated with the fee-for-service system.

This paper reviews the health care system and the supporting health insurance framework in Australia. The importance of the health insurance mechanism is stressed in relation to the maintenance and growth of private fee-for-service medicine. The Medical Benefits Schedule, which is the negotiated basis for medical fees under insurance, is examined for the logic implicit in the fee structure.