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Br J Sports Med 2004;38:214-217 Objective: To define the role and responsibilities of the sports medicine specialist using a recognised research technique. Methods: A Delphi technique was employed using anonymous [...]

School sport is a major cause of injury in the post-primary age group. The importance of primary prevention in sport has been identified; however secondary prevention of school related sport [...]

Sport and exercise related injury is responsible for about 5% of the overall workload in the accident and emergency (A&E) department, (1-4) and A&E specialists agree that they should have [...]

Background: Sport and exercise related injuries are responsible for about 5% of the workload in the accident and emergency (A&E) department, yet training in sports medicine is not a compulsory [...]

Background: School sport is a major cause of injury in the post primary age group. Most injuries are minor but more serious injuries are potentially catastrophic, and appropriate management may [...]

A postal questionnaire on ‘sterilization and disinfection’ was sent to all 144 nurse members of the British Association of Health Services in Higher Education (BAHSHE). Forty-nine (34%) completed valid questionnaires were returned. Despite the majority of practices performing minor surgical procedures such as cervical cytology (N= 40, 82%), ear syringing (N= 44, 90%) and wound dressing (N= 49, 100%), only 11 (22%) had access to a sterile supply department (SSD), and the definitions of sterilization and disinfection were only identified by 23 (52%) and 14 (32%) of the respondents, respectively. Forty-one (84%) respondents had a benchtop sterilizer (30 had a benchtop sterilizer, 11 a vacuum sterilizer and two had both), although there was considerable confusion on their appropriate use and maintenance. Just over half had written procedures for sterilizer use, no practice changed the sterilizer water on a daily basis as recommended by the Medical Devices Agency (MDA), few kept a sterilizer logbook and even fewer had read the MDA Device Bulletin on benchtop sterilizers. The majority of respondents voiced an interest in attending a workshop on sterilization and disinfection. We conclude that despite the location of the general practices within an academic environment, the concept of infection control is clearly not understood by university health service staff. As the implications of a failure to implement proper infection control procedures are potentially serious, the need for adequate education and training of staff is of critical importance.