1 Department of Neurology, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS16 1LE, UK 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1UB, UK 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS16 1LE 4 Department of Neurosciences, North Bristol N...

*Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK, †Torbay Hospital, Torquay, UK, ‡Department of General Surgery, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK, §Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK, ¶Department of Histopathology, Royal Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Bolton, UK, **Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Charing Cross Hospital, London, UK, ††The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK, ‡...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the utilization of NHS Direct by disadvantaged groups, in spite of the service aiming to be 'accessible to all'. This study investigates the relationship between use of NHS Direct and deprivation in one predominantly disadvantaged area. METHODS Ward-level call rates to NHS Direct South East London over a 6 month period were calculated using postcode data. Jarm...

Before the introduction of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, there was a patchwork of public, private and voluntary provision (Keen et al 2001). Since the establishment of the NHS, when hospitals were nationalised, most of the organisations providing health care to NHS patients have been state-owned. General practitioners (GPs) are a notable exception to this, being self-employed and o...

In April 1999 the Department of Health authorised funding for a pilot scheme of 40 NHS walk-in centres in 30 towns and cities across England, the first of which opened in January 2000. The overall aim of walk-in centres is to improve access to high quality health care in a manner that is both efficient and supportive of other local NHS providers. It is hoped that the centres will complement oth...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of the National Health Service (NHS) Health Check in identifying people at high risk of having or developing type 2 diabetes. DESIGN Retrospective evaluation of the performance of the NHS Health Check diabetes filter (based on ethnicity, body mass index and blood pressure) in identifying people at risk for type 2 diabetes (glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥42...

OBJECT Brainstem dysfunction occurs in a minority of patients with myelomeningocele (MMC), most of whom have Chiari Type II malformation. Some surgeons advocate early identification of these patients for craniocervical decompression to avoid significant mortality. The auditory brainstem response has been found to be abnormal in most children with MMC. The present study examines whether failure ...