The treatment of drug misusers in police custody.

Large numbers of drug users appear in police stations, either as a result of drug offences or as offenders who also misuse drugs. Invariably such offenders are dealt with by police surgeons or forensic medical examiners as they are now called. In this paper a review is made of the guidelines for drug users to access medical help, and the nature of the medical service provided. Supporting material is also provided by the use of some case histories taken from one UK police station. An assessment is made of the obligations and requirements of police surgeons to notify selected drug users under the Notification Regulations and the authors also suggest a more detailed research programme which could be developed.

Managing drug use.

This study of Class A drug users in Nottingham identifies a local drug economy with specific demand and supply characteristics. With reference to demand, data are presented on users' purchasing power and purchasing behaviour, including drug re-sales and the use of credit. Crude elasticity relationships are discussed. The analysis of the supply side includes an examination of the dealing system and pricing methods. Following the integration of these two themes by way of summary the paper concludes with a discussion of the implication of its findings for public policy aimed at managing drug use.

A medical social assessment of admissions to old people's homes in Nottingham.

A medical, psychiatric and social assessment was conducted on 272 residents admitted consecutively to local authority residential care for the elderly in Nottingham in the year ending 31st January 1978. A high level of medical and psychiatric pathology was discovered, in spite of frequent general practitioner contact in the community and recent hospital admissions. Few of the staff in the old people's homes were sufficiently qualified to deal with the medical and psychiatric conditions of the residents only a third of whom had been examined by a general practitioner during the month after admission. The social service provision in the community showed an uneven pattern and did not appear to have a direct relationship with the residents' requirements, 12 per cent of whom could have remained in the community had there been adequate social assessment and support. Only just over half were appropriately placed, and a further third should have been in the care of the hospital services. Recommendations for change are directed towards the provision of routine medical, psychiatric and social assessment of all potential residents by geriatricians and psychogeriatricians in close collaboration with social services in special local authority assessment homes.