Relation between night visit rates and deprivation measures in one general practice.

OBJECTIVE--To compare night visit rates in different electoral wards of one general practice with the Jarman and Townsend deprivation scores and unemployment rates. DESIGN--Analysis of computerised workload data. SETTING--General practice in centre of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. OUTCOME MEASURE--Visits made in 588 nights to the 11,998 patients on the practice list. RESULTS--Night visit rates in 15 electoral wards varied from 19.6 to 55.3 visits per 1000 patients per year. The rates showed a significant association with the Townsend score (p = 0.004) and the unemployment rate (p = 0.03) but not with the Jarman score (p = 0.3). The Townsend score explained 49% of the variability; unemployment explained 31% and the Jarman score explained 9%. CONCLUSIONS--Even in a general practice not eligible for deprivation payments there was a 2.8-fold variation in night visit rates between wards. In this practice the Townsend score was significantly better at predicting night visit rates than the Jarman score. This method of looking at internal variation in workloads in computerised practices could give more direct data on the relation between deprivation and general practice workload than has previously been available.     

Water fluoridation,tooth decay in 5 year olds,and social deprivation measured by the Jarman score: analysis of data from British dental surveys.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of water fluoridation, both artificial and natural, on dental decay, after socioeconomic deprivation was controlled for. DESIGN: Ecological study based on results from the NHS dental surveys in 5 year olds in 1991-2 and 1993-4 and Jarman underprivileged area scores from the 1991 census. SETTING: Electoral wards in three areas: Hartlepool (naturally fluoridated), Newcastle and North Tyneside (fluoridated), and Salford and Trafford (non-fluoridated). SUBJECTS: 5 year old children (n = 10,004). INTERVENTION: Water fluoridation (artificial and occurring naturally). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Ward tooth decay score (score on the "decayed, missing, and filled tooth index" for each electoral ward). RESULTS: Multiple linear regression showed a significant interaction between Jarman score for ward, mean number of teeth affected by decay, and both types of water fluoridation. This confirms that the more deprived an area, the greater benefit derived from fluoridation, whether natural or artificial (R2 = 0.84, P < 0.001). At a Jarman score of zero (national mean score) there was a predicted 44% reduction in decay in fluoridated areas, increasing to a 54% reduction in wards with a Jarman score of 40 (very deprived). The area with natural fluoridation (at a level of 1.2 parts per million-higher than levels in artificially fluoridated areas) had a 66% reduction in decay, with a 74% reduction in wards with a Jarman score of 40. CONCLUSION: Tooth decay is confirmed as a disease associated with social deprivation, and the more socially deprived areas benefit more from fluoridation. Widespread water fluoridation is urgently needed to reduce the "dental health divide" by improving the dental health of the poorer people in Britain.     

Provision of first contact care out of hours in four urban areas in England.

In a typical two week period in 1984 in three urban areas with general practitioner deputising services roughly 40% of first contact patient encounters out of hours were with hospital accident and emergency departments, and only a quarter were with general practitioner deputising services, although 47%, 64%, and 97% of general practitioners in the areas had permission to use such services. Roughly a third only of the encounters were with the practices themselves, and even fewer occurred overnight (11 pm-7 am). In a fourth urban area where 68% of general practitioners formed an out of hours cooperative rota a third of the encounters were with the accident and emergency department and half (more overnight) were with the rota. The presence of a woman principal in a practice and large partnerships of four principals or more were associated with an increased proportion of encounters with the practice itself. Undue prominence may have been given to the role of deputising services in out of hours care. Paradoxically, the use of general practitioner cooperatives may result in even less personal care being given by the patient''s own practice.     

Deprivation and general practitioner workload.

OBJECTIVES--To examine general practitioner consultations by demographic and socioeconomic variables and to derive a method of measuring the impact of relative deprivation on general practitioner workload. DESIGN--The study was based on general practitioner consultations reported in the general household surveys of 1983-7, covering a sample of 129,987 individuals in Great Britain. Odds ratios for general practitioner consultations were obtained for selected variables among children (0-15 years), men (16-64), women (16-64), and elderly people (greater than or equal to 65). These were then used to derive deprivation indices specific to electoral wards for use in general practice. SETTING--Great Britain, with particular findings illustrated by English electoral wards and the conurbations of London, Manchester, Merseyside, and the West Midlands. RESULTS--Council tenure increased the likelihood of consultation significantly in all four groups. Odds ratios were raised in children, men, and women with no access to a car. Birth in the New Commonwealth or Pakistan yielded high odds ratios in men, women, and elderly people but not in children. Marginally increased consultation rates were evident in the manual socioeconomic groups in women, elderly people, and children with a single parent mother. The deprivation indices for general practice derived using these odds ratios varied substantially among English electoral wards with, for example, anticipated general practitioner consultations in the electoral ward of Hulme, Manchester, being 24% higher than the average ward in England as a result of local attributes, and consultations in the Cheam South ward of Sutton, London, 11% lower than average. CONCLUSION--This deprivation index for general practice overcomes several shortcomings expressed about the underprivileged area score, which has been adopted in the 1990 contract as a basis for allocating deprivation supplements to general practitioners. The proposed index can be applied nationwide.     

The effect of deprivation on variations in general practitioners' referral rates: a cross sectional study of computerised data on new medical and surgical outpatient referrals in Nottinghamshire.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of deprivation on variations in general practitioners'' referral rates using the Jarman underprivileged area (UPA(8)) score as a proxy measure. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey of new medical and surgical referrals from general practices to hospitals (determined from hospital activity data). SETTING: All of the 183 general practices in Nottinghamshire and all of the 19 hospitals in Trent region. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The relation between the referral rates per 1000 registered patients and the practice population''s UPA(8) score (calculated on the basis of electoral ward), with adjustment for the number of partners, percentage of patients aged over 65 years, and fundholding status of each practice. RESULTS: There was a significant independent association between deprivation, as measured by the UPA(8) score, and high total referral rates and high medical referral rates (P < 0.0001). The UPA(8) score alone explained 23% of the total variation in total referral rates and 32% of the variation in medical referral rates. On multivariate analysis, where partnership size, fundholding status, and percentage of men and women aged over 65 years were included, the UPA(8) score explained 29% and 35% of the variation in total and medical referral rates respectively. CONCLUSION: Of the variables studied, the UPA(8) score was the strongest predictor of variations in referral rates. This association is most likely to be through a link with morbidity, although it could reflect differences in patients'' perceptions, doctors'' behaviour, or the use and provision of services.     

Unemployment rates: an alternative to the Jarman index?

OBJECTIVE--To compare the Jarman index with alternative deprivation measures with regard to its usefulness to district health authorities as an indicator of need at small area level. DESIGN--The Jarman index (UPA (8)), Townsend''s index of material deprivation, the Scottish Development Department''s index, the Department of the Environment''s basic index, and unemployment rates were compared in respect of their correlation with measures of morbidity by electoral ward in a typical English district health authority. Measures of morbidity comprised standardised mortality ratios, admission rates (standardised and non-standardised), and permanent sickness rates. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were calculated for each combination of measures and were then ranked for each of the deprivation indices. SETTING--The 59 electoral wards of the Central Nottinghamshire Health Authority. RESULTS--The Jarman index consistently ranked lower in respect of its correlation with measures of morbidity than did the other deprivation measures. Current unemployment rates correlated well with morbidity measures, in particular with hospital admission rates, with correlations ranging from 0.669 to 0.830 for average and standardised all age admission rates. CONCLUSIONS--The Jarman index seems to be the least appropriate of these indices for health authority use. Unemployment rate merits further consideration as a simple, up to date marker for deprivation and consequent need for health service provision.     

Impact of NHS walk-in centres on the workload of other local healthcare providers: time series analysis

ObjectivesTo assess the impact of NHS walk-in centres on the workload of local accident and emergency departments, general practices, and out of hours services.DesignTime series analysis in walk-in centre sites with no-treatment control series in matched sites.SettingWalk-in centres and matched control towns without walk-in centres in England.Participants20 accident and emergency departments, 40 general practices, and 14 out of hours services within 3 km of a walk-in centre or the centre of a control town.ResultsA reduction in consultations at emergency departments (–175 (95% confidence interval –387 to 36) consultations per department per month) and general practices (–19.8 (−53.3 to 13.8) consultations per 1000 patients per month) close to walk-in centres became apparent, although these reductions were not statistically significant. Walk-in centres did not have any impact on consultations on out of hours services.ConclusionIt will be necessary to assess the impact of walk-in centres in a larger number of sites and over a prolonged period, to determine whether they reduce the demand on other local NHS providers.

What is already known on this topic

One of the objectives for NHS walk-in centres was to reduce demand on other NHS services, particularly general practitioners'' services and accident and emergency departmentsStudies of walk-in centres in North America have indicated that such centres do not reduce demand on other healthcare servicesStudies of minor injuries units in the United Kingdom (which have some similarities with walk-in centres) indicate that these units substitute mainly for consultations in accident and emergency departments

What this study adds

The data imply that walk-in centres may moderate the increasing demand on general practice and reduce the number of consultations in accident and emergency departmentsThe high level of background variability in consultation rates means that any impact of a walk-in centre is not statistically significantTo draw robust conclusions about the impact of walk-in centres on other health providers will require study of a large number of sites over an extended period of time     

Underprivileged areas and health care planning: implications of use of Jarman indicators of urban deprivation.

OBJECTIVE--To analyse critically the use of the Jarman underprivileged area index in health care planning and distribution of resources. DESIGN--The original derivation of the score was examined and evidence to support criticisms of the use of underprivileged area scores examined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Discrepancies between areas classified as deprived according to the index and areas known to require government funding; the extent of the bias towards family practitioner areas in London; and how the results of using the Jarman index compared with those when another deprivation index based on different indicators was used. RESULTS--The use of electroal wards as geographical areas for which deprivation payments are made is unsatisfactory as the wards vary considerably in size. Of the 20 district health authorities with the highest underprivileged area scores in England, 12 were in London, and four of the six family practitioner committee areas with the highest scores were in London. No health authority or family practitioner committee area in the Northern region had one of the top 20 or 10 scores respectively. When an alternative deprivation index was used to determine the allocation of resources to doctors there was considerable variation compared with the Jarman index. CONCLUSION--The Jarman index underprivileged area score is an inappropriate measure to use for health care planning and distribution of resources. There is a need for a revised measure for allocating deprivation payments to general practitioners.     

Use of computer terminals on wards to access emergency test results: a retrospective audit

ObjectiveTo assess delay in clinicians obtaining emergency biochemistry test results when the telephoning of results by laboratory staff is supplanted by installation of computer ward terminals.DesignRetrospective observational study.SettingAccident and emergency department and acute medical admissions ward of a teaching hospital.Sample3228 emergency requests for biochemistry tests sent from the accident and emergency department and 1836 from the medical admissions ward during August 1999 to January 2000 when there was no recorded telephone contact for results.ResultsThe results from 1443/3228 (45%) of urgent requests from accident and emergency and 529/1836 (29%) from the admissions ward were never accessed via the ward terminal. Results from 794/3228 (25%) of accident and emergency requests and 413/1836 (22%) of admissions ward requests were seen within 1 hour of becoming available while a further 491/3228 (15%) and 341/1836 (19%) respectively were accessed between 1 and 3 hours. In up to 43/1443 (3%) of the accident and emergency test results that were never looked at the findings might have led to an immediate change in patient management.ConclusionsWhen used as the sole substitute for telephoning results, the provision of terminal access to laboratory results on wards can hinder rather than promote the communication of emergency blood results to healthcare staff.

What is already known on this topic

Providing computer terminals on wards to access laboratory results is usually regarded as a service improvement for healthcare staffMany laboratories that transmit results to ward terminals dispense with telephoning emergency blood results

What this study adds

Many urgently requested results are not looked at if hospital staff need to access a computer terminal to obtain themIf ward terminals are used as a complete substitute for the telephone, results that would have led to an immediate change in patient management may pass unnoticed     

Primary medical care outside normal working hours: review of published work.

Fundamental changes in the delivery of primary medical care outside normal surgery hours are under consideration in Great Britain. Published research into the provision and utilisation of out of hours services shows long term trends towards decreasing personal commitment among general practitioners and rising demand from patients for primary and hospital accident and emergency department care. Wide variations exist regionally, locally, and between practices. Previous studies, however, have been limited in scope and provide an inadequate basis for assessing the potential impact of change. The overall demand for care across all sources of provision cannot be measured: there is a lack of data on costs, and evaluative studies comparing alternative patterns of service delivery have rarely been undertaken. A period of experimentation and evaluation of a range of options should precede the wider adoption of any particular models.     

Underprivileged areas: validation and distribution of scores.

Underprivileged areas were identified by weighting several census variables that relate to social conditions, by using weights determined by means of a questionnaire sent to one in 10 of the general practitioners in the United Kingdom. The weighted variables were added (after statistical manipulation) to give a score for each of the 9265 electoral wards in England and Wales. Blank ward maps were sent to general practitioners in five family practitioner committee areas and they were asked to shade the wards according to the degree to which the population increased their workload or the pressure on their services. Maps of these same areas were then prepared by using the calculated scores with the cut off points between the worst, the intermediate, and the best areas as on those used by the general practitioners. The two sets of maps were then compared to determine how well the maps that were based on scores agreed with the general practitioners'' maps showing their assessment of the variation of workload in their areas. Overall, 6.3% of the wards differed in shading in any way between the two sets of maps. In the three areas where the general practitioners shaded complete wards and did not report having difficulties with shading only 1.2% of the wards differed. It may be possible to use these "underprivileged area" scores to indicate where problems occur for general practitioners and to extend this work to other primary health care workers.     

Self referral to accident and emergency department: patients' perceptions.

A study was conducted (a) to assess the number of patients registered with a south London general practice who over 11 weeks referred themselves to an accident and emergency department, (b) to identify the characteristics of those patients, and (c) to determine their perceptions of the services and resources available within their general practices and of the role of accident and emergency departments. Two hundred and thirty four patients referred themselves to a casualty department during the study period, of whom 217 (93%) were interviewed by means of a semistructured questionnaire. Of the 217 patients interviewed, only 15 had tried to contact their general practitioner before attending the casualty department. Eighty nine patients considered that their problem was urgent and required immediate attention and many that they would need an x ray examination. A substantial minority of patients thought that their doctor would not be available. It is concluded that patients'' perceptions of their problems and of access to their doctors are the main determinants of self referral to a casualty department. These findings have important implications for patient education.     

Risks of intracranial haematoma in head injured adults.

A study was conducted to estimate the risk that an adult (age 15 or over) will develop a surgically significant intracranial haematoma after a head injury. Two simple features were used that can be recognised by clinicians with minimal training: a skull fracture and the conscious level. The risks were calculated from samples of 545 patients with haematomas, 2773 head injured patients in accident and emergency departments, and 2783 head injured patients in primary surgical wards. With radiological evidence of skull fracture and any impairment of consciousness (including disorientation) one patient in four in an accident and emergency department or primary surgical ward will develop a haematoma. With no skull fracture and preserved orientation the risk to a patient in an accident and emergency department is one in 6000. The use of risk levels as a basis for decision making about head injured patients may result in fewer haematomas being detected too late and savings of resources by reducing the admission and investigation of low risk categories of patients.     

Deprivation payments to general practitioners: limitations of census data.

The census data from which deprivation payments have been calculated since June 1995 suffer from limitations including underenumeration; under counting of homeless people and refugees, and artefactual errors because of the way in which the 1991 census data were tabulated. These limitations reduced the fairness of the changes that many practices experienced in their deprivation payments. The validity of the current system of deprivation payments would be improved if these limitations were borne in mind when allocating payments to practices and if enumeration districts were used as the basis of payments rather than electoral wards.     

Survey of 3765 cardiopulmonary resuscitations in British hospitals (the BRESUS Study): methods and overall results.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the circumstances, incidence, and outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in British hospitals. DESIGN--Hospitals registered all cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts for 12 months or longer and followed survival to one year. SETTING--12 metropolitan, provincial, teaching, and non-teaching hospitals across Britain. SUBJECTS--3765 patients in whom a resuscitation attempt was performed, including 927 in whom the onset of arrest was outside the hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Survival after initial resuscitation, at 24 hours, at discharge from hospital, and at one year, calculated by the life table method. RESULTS--There were 417 known survivors at one year, with 214 lost to follow up. By life table analysis for every eight attempted resuscitations there were three immediate survivors, two at 24 hours, 1.5 leaving hospital alive, and one alive at one year. Survival at one year was 12.5% including out of hospital cases and 15.0% not including these cases. Each hospital year averaged 30 survivors at one year: three who had an arrest outside hospital, seven who had one in the accident and emergency department, seven in the cardiac care unit, 10 in the general wards, and three in other, non-ward areas. Within the hospitals survival rates were best in those who had an arrest in the accident and emergency department, the cardiac care unit, or other specialised units. Outcome varied 12-fold in subgroups defined by age, type of arrest, and place of arrest. CONCLUSION--71% of the mortality at one year in patients undergoing attempted resuscitation occurred during the initial arrest. Hospital resuscitation is life saving and cost effective and warrants appropriate attention, training, coordination, and equipment.     

Hospital resuscitation from ventricular fibrillation in Brighton.

The overall results over three and a half years of the treatment of ventricular fibrillation secondary to ischaemic heart disease in the Royal Sussex County Hospital were reviewed. Records of all patients who were brought to hospital by resuscitation ambulances or who were admitted to the coronary care unit from any source were analysed. Eighty-seven of the 174 patients (50%) who developed ventricular fibrillation were discharged. The survivors included 13 out of 61 patients (21%) in whom fibrillation was secondary to cardiogenic shock or severe left ventricular failure. The presence of resuscitation equipment and nursing staff trained to use it in the general wards and emergency areas ensured a uniformly high success rate throughout the hospital, similar to that achieved in the coronary care unit. Prompt defibrillation in the general wards and the accident and emergency department may improve overall survival.     

Confirmation of death.

A working party set up to study the problems surrounding the confirmation of death investigated current practice by means of a questionnaire sent to a random sample of accident and emergency departments in district general hospitals. Of the 38 replying, 24 said that bodies were examined in the ambulance, four in the accident and emergency department, and 10 in both. Answers to the other questions also suggest that the present procedures are in general unsatisfactory, and some dissatisfaction was expressed by departments. The individuals and organisations consulted were unanimous that confirmation of death should not be carried out in the ambulance. A change of practice would, however, create practical problems. The working party recommends therefore that the standard practice should be for all bodies to be properly examined by a doctor in the accident and emergency department, and that funds should be made available for any building alterations and increase in staff made necessary by such changes.     

Is the ratio of inhaled corticosteroid to bronchodilator a good indicator of the quality of asthma prescribing? Cross sectional study linking prescribing data to data on admissions.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the ratio of inhaled corticosteroid to bronchodilator as a measure of the quality of asthma prescribing by general practitioners. DESIGN: Ecological cross sectional study linking general practitioner asthma prescribing with hospital admission data and a measure of deprivation. SUBJECTS: 11 family health services authorities in the West Midlands region and 99 general practices in North Staffordshire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospital admission rates for asthma; the ratio of inhaled corticosteroid to bronchodilator; and Townsend deprivation scores. RESULTS: No overall significant correlation was found between admission rates for asthma and corticosteroid:bronchodilator ratios for family health services authorities (Spearman''s rs = -0.109, P = 0.750) or general practices (rs = -0.084, P = 0.407). In deprived family health services authority areas and general practices an inverse non-significant correlation existed between admission rates for asthma and corticosteroid:bronchodilator ratios (rs = -0.300, P = 0.624; rs = -0.218, P = 0.136). In contrast, in more affluent areas and general practices a positive non-significant correlation existed between admission rates and corticosteroid:bronchodilator ratios (rs = 0.371, P = 0.468; rs = 0.038, P = 0.792). CONCLUSION: Although the corticosteroid:bronchodilator ratio may be a valid indicator of the quality of prescribing for individual patients with asthma, caution should be applied in interpreting aggregated ratios. Differences in the severity of asthma or the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may explain inconsistent associations between admission rates for asthma and corticosteroid:bronchodilator ratios in family health services authorities and general practices with different deprivation scores.