Research

Involuntary admissions under the Mental Health Act and number of psychiatric beds in England

The number of involuntary admissions for mental disorders in England per year increased by 20% from 1996 to 2006, whereas the total number of admissions and number of NHS psychiatric beds decreased. In addition, inpatient psychiatric care is expensive, unpopular, and often unsatisfactory, says the author of an accompanying editorial.
Other recent research:

• Does a functional activity programme improve function, quality of life, and falls for residents in long term care?
• Minimally invasive treatments for benign prostatic enlargement
• Prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients requesting physicians’ aid in dying

News

Almost 25% of IVF cycles resulted in a live birth in 2006

Success rates for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in the United Kingdom have increased for every age group, according to figures for 2006 released this week by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
Other news published on 10 October:

• US groups set out strategy to reduce hospital acquired infections

Comment

Where are we in the rationing debate?

Important debates about societal priorities for health and healthcare services have been ongoing for decades. What progress have we made, asks this editorial about three articles on rationing.
See also:

• Moving forward on rationing: an economic view
• Accountability for reasonableness: an update
• Clinical priority setting

Analysis

Why combating tobacco smuggling is a priority

Smuggled tobacco accounts for a sizeable proportion of consumption in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the UK dropped public targets for reducing tobacco smuggling in March this year. UK Health psychologist Robert West and colleagues present figures highlighting the serious effects of tobacco smuggling and suggest that the government's strategy should increase the effort and resources dedicated to reducing it.

Comment

Medical classic: The Conquest of Happiness

Bertrand Russell didn’t guarantee happiness, but he laid out conditions to make its attainment more possible, and emphasised that a positive effort was necessary. Kate Robertson revisits Russell's book, first published in 1930.
Other recent views and reviews:

• Theodore Dalrymple: The fatal sleep
• Des Spence: Bombs in the sexual health war
• Mary E Black: A knot in the ribbon
• Eileen Palmer: The kindness of strangers
• Brian Greenwood: Out of the shadows

BMJ Group Awards

Rewarding excellence, innovation, effectiveness, and integrity

Films have the Oscars, novels have the Booker Prize. Now, with the launch this week of the BMJ Group Awards, health care has its own chance to celebrate its successes. The 10 categories of the awards will recognise people, organisations, and initiatives that demonstrate outstanding and, where possible, measurable improvements to health care across the globe. Find out more about the BMJ Group Awards.

Education

Investigating hoarseness

A 74 year old man presented with a hoarse voice and difficulty swallowing that had developed over a few months. He also gave a long history of left sided hearing loss. What investigations should you initiate? The latest in our series on the best use of different imaging methods for common or important clinical presentations.

Education

Endgames

This week's instalment of our new weekly educational clinical quiz is now live. Compiled from peer reviewed contributions from readers, it covers clinical medicine and statistics. There's also a prize quiz, pulled from the BMJ's sister product OnExamination.
This week's Endgames articles:

• Prize quiz: Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infection in children
• Picture quiz: Anaemia in a 17 year old student
• Case report: A pain in the bottom
• Statistical question: Distributions