Challenges to neurosurgery service delivery. Who moved my cheese?

The change programme in the National Health Service has moved the Acute Trusts providing neurosurgical services to very different ways of delivering healthcare. The process of reform has been supported by investment but the next few years will see far less additional money, and success and failure of services will be dependent upon the approach to those reforms. The 'payment by results' system of funding through tariff, the 'plurality of providers' policy of forcing commissioners to purchase activity from independent providers, the 'patient choice' process of encouraging patients to select treatment from a number of providers, and the '18-week wait' target of bringing down referral to treatment times are all major shifts in the way services are delivered and developed. The reforms have not been made with neurosurgery in mind, how will they affect the way this small specialty is delivered?

Polymyography combined with time-locked video recording (video EMG) for presurgical assessment of patients with cervical dystonia.

We assessed 26 patients with cervical dystonia, in whom botulinum toxin (BT) injections had failed, before selective peripheral denervation. We decided to base the decision which muscle should be denervated on both clinical information and EMG data and focussed on the following features: activity at onset or during 'dystonic spasms' (according to the concept of the 'leading' dystonic muscle), paradoxical activity during voluntary head movements causing restriction of head movements opposite the side of head turn or tilt and activity when symptoms deteriorated during walking. To identify these muscles we developed a new recording system that integrates simultaneous video-taping and polymyography (video EMG) by means of a digital counter, driven by the recording software (resolution 0.1 s), that was fixed in view of the video camera. This system time-locked clinical signs with relevant EMG activity thus allowing demonstration of the above features. These were found in 68% of dystonic muscles with each of them being present in approximately 40%. Video EMG allows an integrated approach to identify overactive neck muscles in patients with cervical dystonia taking into account both relevant clinical findings and EMG data.

Snapshot view of emergency neurosurgical head injury care in Great Britain and Ireland.

OBJECTIVES: To study the availability of neurosurgical intensive care for the traumatically brain injured in all 36 neurosurgical centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland receiving head injuries, the response times to referral, and the advice given to the referring hospitals. METHODS: Telephone survey of receiving neurosurgeons regarding their bed status and their advice on three hypothetical case scenarios. Outcome measures included response times for an acute head injury to be accepted to a neurosurgical centre; the intensive care bed status; variations in advice given to the referring hospitals with regard to ventilation, use of mannitol, steroids, anticonvulsants, and antibiotics. RESULTS: There were 43 neurosurgical intensive care beds available for an overall estimated population of 63.6 million. There were 1.8 beds available/million of the population for non-ventilated patients, 0.64 beds available/million for ventilated patients, and 0.55 beds available/million for ventilated paediatric patients. London had a shortage of beds with 0.19 adult beds for ventilation/million north of the Thames and 0.14 adult beds for ventilation/million south of the Thames. The median response time for a patient with an extradural haematoma to be accepted for transfer was 6 minutes and 89% of such a referral was accepted within 30 minutes. Clinically significant delays in receiving referrals (over 30 minutes) occurred in four units. Practices regarding the use of hyperventilation, mannitol, anticonvulsants, and antibiotics showed little conformity and in some cases were against the available evidence and advice given by published guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: There is a severe shortage of available emergency neurosurgical beds especially in the south east of England. The lack of immediately available neurosurgical intensive care beds results in delays of transfer that could adversely affect the outcome of surgery for traumatic intracranial haematoma. Advice given to the referring units by the receiving doctors is very variable.

The dental caries experience of 5-year-old children in Great Britain. Surveys coordinated by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry in 1993/94.

This paper reports the results of standardised clinical caries examinations of 191,770 five-year-old children from across Great Britain. These 1993/94 coordinated surveys were the latest in a series which seeks to monitor the dental health of children and to assess the provision of dental services. The criteria and conventions of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry trainers' pack of 1992/93 were used. Representative samples were drawn from participating health authorities and boards and caries was diagnosed at the caries into dentine (d3) threshold using a visual method without radiography or fibre-optic transillumination. The results demonstrated a wide variation in prevalence across Great Britain, with mean dmft for regions and countries ranging from 1.1 in the West Midlands to 3.2 in Scotland. The mean value for dmft across Great Britain was 1.92 (d = 1.38, m = 0.30, f = 0.24). Overall, 45 per cent of children had evidence of caries experience (dmft > 0), although the means ranged between 32 per cent (SW Thames) and 62 per cent (Scotland). Trends over time demonstrate a deterioration in overall dmft of 11 per cent since 1989/90, comprising a fall in the number of fillings and an increase in untreated decay of 30 per cent. These findings demonstrate the continuing need for more effective preventive and treatment services for this important age group.

The dental caries experience of 5-, 12- and 14-year-old children in Great Britain. Surveys coordinated by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry in 1991/92, 1992/3 and 1990-91.

A series of caries prevalence surveys across Great Britain has been coordinated by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) since 1985/86 with the aim of monitoring caries experience in representative samples of school children aged 5, 12 and 14 years of age. The purpose of this report is to present the findings of the surveys of 14-, 5- and 12-year-old children carried out in 1990/91, 1991/92 and 1992/3 respectively. These point prevalence surveys were conducted at the caries into dentine level of diagnosis using clinical examination only and a standardised, predominantly visual, diagnostic method employed by trained and calibrated teams of examiners from each country/region of Great Britain. For the 14-year-old age group, 114,126 children from 179 health authorities/boards were examined. The weighted mean DMFT for the participating countries and regions was 2.30 (range, 1.42-3.55). At age 5 years, 205,444 children from 184 health authorities/boards were examined. The weighted mean dmft for the participating countries and regions was 1.86 (range, 1.04-2.88). At age 12 years, 151,143 children from 186 health authorities/boards were examined. The weighted mean DMFT for the participating countries and regions was 1.27 (range, 0.84-2.08). A wide geographical variation in the results was evident for all three age groups, demonstrating a consistent north-south pattern, with higher levels towards the north of Britain. Trends in caries experience in permanent teeth indicate that the decline is now much slower for 12-year-old than for 14-year-old children and slower than the rate for 12-year-old children during the previous 4 year interval between examinations. For 5-year-old children, overall, the general decline in caries experience has ceased, while increases in dmft and in proportions with untreated dentinal decay are now seen in most parts of Great Britain. The pattern of restorative care provided has deteriorated with a fall in the care index for 5- and 12-year-old children, this finding may be related to changes in service provision within the UK.

GDS and CDS--are they on the same side?

This paper describes the changing community dental service role in the provision of primary dental care. It sets out those aspects specific to the community dental service (CDS) and identifies areas which are complementary to services provided by practitioners in the general dental service (GDS). It also explores some of the relationships between practitioners working in the GDS and the CDS.

Dental health and dental care requirements for young handicapped adults in Wessex.

The dental health status and treatment requirements of 195 young handicapped adults living in the Wessex Health Region are reported. These young adults, aged 25-34 years, attended adult training centres on a daily basis in each of the districts in Wessex Region. The amount of untreated caries was higher and the periodontal status worse for this group than would normally be expected in young adults in this age range. The dental care received was related to the ability of the subject to comprehend and co-operate with the operator. Nearly half the subjects could receive routine treatment in a normal surgery and about a quarter were likely to require hospitalisation and general anaesthesia to achieve any treatment. The community dental service should play an important role in organising and supervising preventive strategies, with the aim of improving oral hygiene for these young handicapped adults, which should materially improve their periodontal health.