Autonomy and modernisation: the management of change in an English primary care trust

Recent New Labour policy for the ‘modernisation’ of Government places a good deal of emphasis on decentralisation. This emphasis is particularly marked in relation to the organisation of primary care. However, like hospitals and other National Health Service institutions, primary care trusts (PCTs) are subject to a substantial raft of centrally established performance targets and indicators, including those which contribute to the public award of between zero and three performance ‘stars’. This raises questions about the extent to which employees can exercise autonomy in the context of rigid top‐down directives. This paper presents findings from a study using participant observation and interviews to examine the impact of a training course aimed ostensibly at increasing employee autonomy in an English PCT. The suggestion is that attempts to make employees more autonomous can be seen as a strategy for increasing central control based upon the internalisation by the employees of centrally promulgated values. The attraction of such strategies is that they may be potentially more effective and less costly than alternative strategies of direct control. However, the study suggests that the outcome of attempts by such methods as programmes to increase employee autonomy may be very different from those intended.     

The Kerf-Cut Dressing: Application of a Woodworking Technique for Efficient Postsurgical Wound Care

BACKGROUND: Simple surgical excision is one of the most common treatment methods in the dermatologist's armamentarium. We describe a precise postsurgical dressing technique that can be used for wound care of those patients whose treatment involves removal of lesions via cutaneous surgery. OBJECTIVE: To devise a novel, precise, and effective dressing technique for postsurgical wound care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We describe the technique using common in-office instruments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Wound dressings for lesions located on curved areas such as the ears, nose, cheeks, and chin often exhibit less than adequate adherence and stability. The kerf-cut dressing technique optimizes pliability of dressing tape, and this maximizes efficient and stable application of postsurgical wound dressings to curved areas of the body.     

Five Percent Lidocaine Cream Applied Simultaneously to the Skin and Mucosa of the Lips Creates Excellent Anesthesia for Filler Injections

Background. Injection of filler substances into the lips is painful, and many patients also find the injection of local or regional anesthesia into the lips painful.
Objective. To develop a highly effective and painless form of anesthesia to facilitate injection of filler substances into the lips.
Methods. Five percent lidocaine cream was applied simultaneously to the skin, vermilion, and mucosa of the lips (with the use of a barrier to keep the cream in contact with the mucosa and out of the rest of the mouth) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Results. Profound anesthesia of the lips was reliably produced, with no complications.
Conclusions. This "anesthetic cream block" is easier to perform and better tolerated than injectable anesthetics. Use of this technique is likely to expand the range of physicians who perform filler injections on the lips and will probably also expand the range of patients who wish to have filler injections done on their lips and who (because they had little or no discomfort) are willing to return for additional filler injections in the future.     

松龄血脉康抑制肺动脉高压的实验研究

为观察松龄血脉康胶囊对肺动脉高压大鼠肺动脉压的影响，取１００只健康Ｗｉｓｔａｒ大鼠，其中６０只背部注射野百合碱ｍｏｎｏｃｒｏｔａｌｉｎｅ，ＭＣＴ８０ｍｇ／ｋｇ复制出肺动脉高压模型。再将其分为两组，各３０只，其中一组以标准饲料喂养，另一组加用松龄血脉康胶囊１．５ｇ·ｋｇ－１·ｄ－１。其余４０只健康大鼠做为正常对照组，在实验当天、７天、１４天、２１天、２８天、３５天从各组中随机抽取５只行右心导管测肺动脉压。结果：注射ＭＣＴ后肺高压组２８天时达高峰，但加用松龄血脉康组上升幅度明显小于未用药组。结论：松龄血脉康有显著抑制大鼠肺动脉高压发展的作用     

'This isn't very typical I'm afraid': observing community care complaints procedures

The new complaints procedures which local authority social services departments have been required to introduce represent an important mechanism for managing the change of culture associated with recent community care reforms. They also represent a new genre in mechanisms of redress for welfare recipients. This paper reports the findings of a study which has observed considerable diversity in the ways in which local authorities are interpreting the nature and purposes of the new procedures and, in particular, the functions of review panels established under those procedures. Variations in the composition of panels, in the style of review panel proceedings, in perceptions of the panels' powers, and in the ways that complaints and complainants are constituted are all discussed. Attention is drawn to four competing interpretations of the review panels' role and to the need for these to be clarified and prioritised.     

肠杆菌科新种细菌的分离鉴定及致病性研究

报告了从辽宁省部分地区腹泻和感染标本中检出的成团肠杆菌、非脱羧勒克氏菌、克吕沃尔氏菌、彭氏变形菌、霍堆氏肠杆菌的分离、鉴定，药敏试验及致病性研究结果．部分菌株可引起动物、生物模型病变，证明有致病力．与人的腹泻和感染有关．致病性研究中，溶血性阳性率最高，依次为乳鼠灌胃，ＨｅＰ—２细胞、Ｖｅｒｏ细胞病变，兔肠袢结扎．豚鼠角膜侵袭试验无阳性．药敏试验证实，５组细菌抗药谱已很广，临床可用的敏感药物不多，一旦发生感染，治疗将十分困难．