Impact of same-day appointments on patient satisfaction with general practice appointment systems.

Following recent concerns about patients' inability to book appointments in advance, this study examined the relationship between the proportion of GP appointments reserved for same-day booking, and patient satisfaction with appointment systems. In a survey of 12,825 patients in 47 practices, it was found that a 10% increase in the proportion of same-day appointments was associated with an 8% reduction in the proportion of patients satisfied. Practices should be wary of increasing the level of same-day appointments to meet access targets.

The multiplicity and interdependency of factors influencing the health of street-based sex workers: a qualitative study.

Objectives: To obtain a detailed understanding of the lives of street-based commercial sex workers (SSWs) and how factors in their lives interrelate to affect their health.

Methods: In-depth interviews with 22 SSW working in Bristol, England.

Results: The SSWs described their working day as a continuous cycle of selling sex, buying and using drugs, then returning to work.

Is fast access to general practice all that should matter? A discrete choice experiment of patients' preferences.

Objectives: To determine the relative importance of factors that influence patient choice in the booking of general practice appointments for two health problems.

Methods: Two discrete choice experiments incorporated into a survey of general practice patients and qualitative methods to support survey development.

Results: An overall response of 94% (1052/1123) was achieved.

Combined administration in a single injection of a feline multivalent modified live vaccine against FHV, FCV, and FPLV together with a recombinant FeLV vaccine is both safe and efficacious for all four major feline viral pathogens.

Nobivac Tricat, a lyophilised trivalent modified live attenuated vaccine is routinely used to protect cats against three commonly diagnosed feline viral pathogens namely herpesvirus, calicivirus and panleukopenia virus. The recognition of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) as an important viral pathogen has prompted the development of an efficacious liquid recombinant subunit FeLV vaccine (p45 envelope protein). Lyophilised Tricat vaccine was dissolved in the liquid FeLV vaccine and no detectable deleterious effect on the titre of any of the live virus components was observed after 2h incubation.

Ranking the selectivity of PubChem screening hits by activity-based protein profiling: MMP13 as a case study.

High-throughput screening (HTS) has become an integral part of academic and industrial efforts aimed at developing new chemical probes and drugs. These screens typically generate several 'hits', or lead active compounds, that must be prioritized for follow-up medicinal chemistry studies. Among primary considerations for ranking lead compounds is selectivity for the intended target, especially among mechanistically related proteins.

Improving access to primary care: eight case studies of introducing Advanced Access in England.

Objective: To examine the implementation of 'Advanced Access' as a means of improving access to primary care.

Methods: Qualitative case studies of eight English general practices undertaken as part of a mixed method study.

Results: There was considerable variation in the interpretation and implementation of Advanced Access.

Predictors of complementary therapy use among asthma patients: results of a primary care survey.

Patients with chronic conditions are increasingly using complementary therapies. Asthma is the most common chronic disease in the UK. Qualitative research has suggested reasons why asthma patients use complementary therapies.

The involvement of private companies in NHS general practice.

May improve access but weakens the foundation of primary care in the NHS

Optimization of activity-based probes for proteomic profiling of histone deacetylase complexes.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key enzymatic regulators of the epigenome and serve as promising targets for anticancer therapeutics. Recently, we developed a photoreactive "clickable" probe, SAHA-BPyne, to report on HDAC activity and complex formation in native biological systems. Here, we investigate the selectivity, sensitivity, and inhibitory properties of SAHA-BPyne and related potential activity-based probes for HDACs.

Providing care closer to home.

The strategy is popular with patients but questions about cost and quality remain

Special interest GPs. Special branch.

Special interest GPs can cut down on hospital referrals but there is no evidence that their role reduces hospital outpatient waiting times. There is no evidence of different clinical outcomes between GPSI and hospital clinics. Patients place the quality of their consultation and the expertise of the doctor ahead of accessibility.

Does Advanced Access improve access to primary health care? Questionnaire survey of patients.

Background: General practices in England have been encouraged to introduce Advanced Access, but there is no robust evidence that this is associated with improved access in ways that matter to patients.

Aim: To compare priorities and experiences of patients consulting in practices which do or do not operate Advanced Access.

Design Of Study: Patient questionnaire survey.

Impact of Advanced Access on access, workload, and continuity: controlled before-and-after and simulated-patient study.

Background: Case studies from the US suggest that Advanced Access appointment systems lead to shorter delays for appointments, reduced workload, and increased continuity of care.

Aim: To determine whether implementation of Advanced Access in general practice is associated with the above benefits in the UK.

Design Of Study: Controlled before-and-after and simulated-patient study.

Peptide-nanoparticle hybrid SERS probes for optical detection of protease activity.

Real-time in situ detection of active proteases is crucial for early-stage cancer screening and cell signaling pathway study; however, it is difficult to achieve using fluorescence or radioactive probes at volumes below 1 nL. Here we demonstrated a hybrid optical probe by incorporating nanocrescent particle and peptides with artificial tag molecules. We performed a proof-of-concept study using prostate specific antigen (PSA), one of the most prominent prostate cancer markers, and a serine protease present in patients' seminal fluid and serum.

Health needs and service use of parlour-based prostitutes compared with street-based prostitutes: a cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: To compare the health needs of prostitutes (sex workers) working in massage parlours with that of those working on the streets.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Inner city, UK.

NHS walk-in centres.

Do not have a meaningful impact on the demand for general practice

The impact of co-located NHS walk-in centres on emergency departments.

Objectives: To determine the impact of establishing walk-in centres alongside emergency departments (EDs) on attendance rates, visit duration, process, costs and outcome of care.

Methods: Eight hospitals with co-located EDs and walk-in centres were compared with eight matched EDs without walk-in centres. Site visits were conducted.

Comparing care at walk-in centres and at accident and emergency departments: an exploration of patient choice, preference and satisfaction.

Objectives: To explore the impact of establishing walk-in centres alongside emergency departments on patient choice, preference and satisfaction.

Methods: A controlled, mixed-method study comparing 8 emergency departments with co-located walk-in centres with the same number of "traditional" emergency departments. This paper focuses on the results of a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of users.

Epidemiological, social, diagnostic and economic evaluation of population screening for genital chlamydial infection.

Objectives: To investigate epidemiological, social, diagnostic and economic aspects of chlamydia screening in non-genitourinary medicine settings.

Methods: Linked studies around a cross-sectional population-based survey of adult men and women invited to collect urine and (for women) vulvovaginal swab specimens at home and mail these to a laboratory for testing for Chlamydia trachomatis. Specimens were used in laboratory evaluations of an amplified enzyme immunoassay (PCE EIA) and two nucleic acid amplification tests [Cobas polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Becton Dickinson strand displacement amplification (SDA)].

Maximising responses to discrete choice experiments: a randomised trial.

Objective: To identify any differences in response and completion rates across two versions of a questionnaire, in order to determine the trade-off between a potentially higher response rate (from a short questionnaire) and a greater level of information from each respondent (from a long questionnaire).

Methods: This was a randomised trial to determine whether response rates and/or results differ between questionnaires containing different numbers of choices: a short version capable of estimating main effects only and a longer version capable of estimating two-way interactions, provided certain assumptions hold. Best-worst scaling was the form of discrete choice experimentation used.

Activity-based probes for proteomic profiling of histone deacetylase complexes.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key regulators of gene expression that require assembly into larger protein complexes for activity. Efforts to understand how associated proteins modulate the function of HDACs would benefit from new technologies that evaluate HDAC activity in native biological systems. Here, we describe an active site-directed chemical probe for profiling HDACs in native proteomes and live cells.

Implementation of Advanced Access in general practice: postal survey of practices.

Background: Advanced Access has been strongly promoted as a means of improving access to general practice. Key principles include measuring demand, matching capacity to demand, managing demand in different ways and having contingency plans. Although not advocated by Advanced Access, some practices have also restricted availability of pre-booked appointments.

Vulvovaginal-swab or first-catch urine specimen to detect Chlamydia trachomatis in women in a community setting?

Screening for chlamydia in women is widely recommended. We evaluated the performance of two nucleic acid amplification tests for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis in self-collected vulvovaginal-swab and first-catch urine specimens from women in a community setting and a strategy for optimizing the sensitivity of an amplified enzyme immunoassay on vulvovaginal-swab specimens. We tested 2,745 paired vulvovaginal-swab and urine specimens by PCR (Roche Cobas) or strand displacement amplification (SDA; Becton Dickinson).

Do NHS walk-in centres in England provide a model of integrated care?

Purpose: To undertake a comprehensive evaluation of NHS walk-in centres against criteria of improved access, quality, user satisfaction and efficiency.

Context: Forty NHS walk-in centres have been opened in England, as part of the UK governments agenda to modernise the NHS. They are intended to improve access to primary care, provide high quality treatment at convenient times, and reduce inappropriate demand on other NHS providers.