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Notes and News

CHILDREN VISITING IN HOSPITALS

A SURVEY carried out in 1969 showed that 40 % of a sam-ple of hospitals placed restrictions on visiting by children.In some places there was a lower age-limit (in one hospitalthis was 16 years), and in others a limit on the number ofvisits a week; some hospitals did not allow children to visitat all. The Department of Health and Social Security hasnow issued a memorandum asking hospital authorities toadopt the general policy of allowing children to visit theirparents and other close relatives in hospital frequently andregularly. The memorandum states that separation froma parent who is in hospital can have far-reaching psycho-logical effects on a child, and parents may also worry aboutchildren if they cannot see them regularly. Hospitalsshould therefore adopt liberal arrangements with regard tochild visitors. Arguments against visiting by children

(risk of infection to patient, noise and disturbance to otherpatients, and emotional disturbance in the child) are notsufficient to justify the restrictions that exist in some

hospitals; these problems have been effectively overcomein those hospitals which encourage child visitors. Thereis also no reason why visits by children should be allowedonly after the patient has been in the hospital for a certainlength of time; such a policy excludes postnatal patientsfrom visits by their children, and this is not desirable at all.The decision to restrict or regulate visiting in an individualcase would remain with the ward sister and the doctors,but hospital leaflets or notices to patients on or beforeadmission should make it clear that, in general, childrenare welcome to visit their parents and other relatives.

EQUIPMENT FOR GERIATRIC PATIENTS

MANY old people need the help of special equipment-chairs, beds, baths-in order to carry out the activities ofdaily living, whether they are in their own homes, in anold person’s home, or in a long-stay annex of a geriatricdepartment. The occupational therapist in a hospitalgeriatric department is in an ideal position to test differentkinds of equipment and advise patients on what is bestfor them, and may also, before discharge, visit the patient’sfuture home and make recommendations on adaptationsand innovations, or even suggest rehousing. It is importantthat the staff in geriatric departments have a thoroughknowledge of the equipment that is currently available,and that a stock of equipment is kept for use in the wardswhich can be assessed in varying situations. A paper byMr. Leigh Atkinson 2 explains the importance of geriatricward equipment and gives details of some of the equipmentwhich has been used and tested in the geriatric unit at

the West Middlesex Hospital, where both inpatients andday-patients are admitted. Chairs are assessed for suchfeatures as ease of mobility and stability at rest, height,and comfort. Chairs with adjustable seats which tip back-wards are useful for patients with hemiplegia and Par-kinson’s disease, who tend to slip forward, and those chairswhich can be adjusted while the patient remains seated arebest for these patients, and also for making assessments ofother patients’ needs. With beds, the important aspectsfor geriatric patients are height (the beds must be low),adjustability, ease and reliability of braking system, andposition of the overbed lifting-pole. Mr. Atkinson commentsthat " the importance of a variety of types of bed on award has hitherto not been sufficiently recognised "; bedswith different features (for example, hinged, sectionedbeds, beds with sides, beds with different types of back-rest)1. Visiting of Patients by Children. H.M. (71) 50.2. Atkinson, L. Occup. Ther. 1971, 34, 19.

should be available in the geriatric ward and ideally inother wards, too.The paper also discusses lockers, overbed tables, baths,

and hoists. One point emphasised is that clear instructionsfor assembly and operation of equipment are absolutelyessential. It has been known for aids to be discarded asuseless because nurses had not been able to understandhow they worked. The need for special equipment is not,Mr. Atkinson says, confined to the geriatric department;equipment should be available in most hospital depart-ments, in view of the increasing age and incapacity ofpatients. It may be needed only for a short while in orderto assist a patient immediately on admission to hospital,or it may be needed for an indefinite period. In any event,the patient’s use of special equipment must be kept underreview, and the occupational therapist should be able toensure that patients are at all times receiving the maximumpossible help from equipment.

BIOLOGICAL REFERENCE MATERIALS

THE division of biological standards, National Institutefor Medical Research, London NW7 1AA supplies thefollowing substances for use as standards to define unitsof activity or as reference materials free of charge to

scientists in any country.

Ampoules with information are issued in response to awritten application from the scientist concerned statingthe purpose for which the material is required. Limited

quantities of preparations of hormones and antisera foruse as reagents in immunoassays are available to research-workers in the U.K.

University of CambridgeThe following degrees have been conferred:M.D.-G. S. Panayi.Af.C7!:’r.ŃW. H. Davies, R. G. Pulvertaft.

University of DundeeThe honorary degree of LL.D. has been conferred on

Dr. Eliot Slater.The following degrees have been conferred.M.D.-P. D. Bewsher, D. K. Whyte.Ch.M.-J. C. Forrester.

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University of BirminghamThe title of honorary professor of thoracic surgery has

been conferred on Mr. J. Leigh Collis.Mr. Leigh Collis, who is 60 years old, graduated B.sc. from

The University of Birmingham in 1932, then M.B. (with first-classhonours) in 1935, and M.D. (with honours) in 1943. He wasresident surgical officer at the Brompton Hospital and Birming-ham General Hospital, and became F.R.C.S. in 1937. During the1939-45 war he served in the R.A.M.C. with the rank of lieut.-colonel. In 1944 he was Hunterian professor of the RoyalCollege of Surgeons of England. He was appointed assistantsurgeon to the United Birmingham Hospitals in 1946, and isnow senior surgeon. He is also adviser in thoracic surgery to theBirmingham Regional Hospital Board and university clinicallecturer in surgery; he holds the title of honorary reader inThoracic surgery. His research has been primarily on aspects ofpulmonary disease, cardiac surgery, and oesophageal surgery.

University of Newcastle upon TyneDr. F. E. Hytten has been appointed to a personal

professorship in human reproductive physiology.Dr. Hytten graduated M.B. from the University of Sydney in

1946 and M.D. in 1962. After house-appointments in Australia,he was awarded a travelling scholarship and in 1951-54 workedwith Prof. Dugald Baird in the department of obstetrics andgynaecology at the University of Aberdeen. Since 1954 he hasbeen on the staff of the M.R.C. Reproduction and Growth Unit,Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. Heis also reader in the physiology of human reproduction at theUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne, and honorary consultant tothe United Newcastle hospitals. His research has been on humanfetal and neonatal development, and he has concentrated latelyon the physiological adjustments to pregnancy in the mother.

Dr. J. A. Barrowman has been appointed reader in

physiology. Dr. N. A. Wright has been appointed lecturerin pathology.

University of AberdeenThe honorary degree of LL.D. has been conferred on Dr.

J. H. F. Brotherston, Sir Stanley Davidson, and Dr.Alexander Lyall.The following degrees have been conferred:M.D.-M. McA. Lees (with commendation), Thomas Ashcroft.Ph.D.-S. W. B. Ewen.

National University of IrelandThe following appointments have been made at Univer-

sity College, Dublin: Mr. P. D. Joyce, to the professorshipof ophthalmology, Mr. M. K. O’Driscoll to the clinicaland research professorship in obstetrics and gynaecology(National Maternity Hospital), and Dr. 0. C. Ward tothe professorship of pxdiatrics.

Royal College of Surgeons in IrelandThe following have been admitted to the fellowship:Jack Cox, Mark Flynn, J. S. Hanson, Vinod Kumar Kapur, J. A’

O’Donnell, P. W. Eustace, R. J. Gay, N. M. Heney, J. R. Nixon’L. A. Vella.

In otolaryngology.-P. J. Robinson, G. C. Slack.In ophthalmology.-R. Y. Tan, Aye Tun.In the Faculty of Ancesthetists.-Yutuk Elem Angole, P. L. Flynn,

Bani Mondal, Heng Zee Su, Barbara J. Burbridge, Margaret D. Milne,S. I. Samuels, Kizhakepat Pisharoth Sukumaran.

Imperial Cancer Research FundDr. Renato Dulbecco has been appointed assistant

director of research of the Imperial Cancer Research FundLaboratories. To strengthen the exchange of views onscientific research on cancer between the Salk Institute andthe Fund Laboratories, Dr. Dulbecco will continue to beon the Cancer Council of the Salk Institute and willremain a fellow of the institute.

Faculty of RadiologistsThe Rohan Williams medal has been awarded to Dr. K. A.

El-Ghamrawi. Dr. M. A. C. Cowell and Dr. Roy Astleyhave been admitted fellows without examination. TheKodak travelling scholarship for 1971 has been awarded toDr. M. F. Anderson and the Ilford scholarship for 1971to Dr. Wilfred Wing Cheung Liu (Hong Kong).The following have been admitted fellows:Radiodiagnosis-Rosemary Anderson, D. L. Asbury, N. S. Blake,

M. A. Cheema, P. Davies, G. J. de Lacey, W. B. Evans, R. S. Ferguson,M. J. Gallant, A. J. Gould, Elizabeth A. Hewitt, F. 0. Jensen, J. P.Laguna, M. I. Lavelle, G. Lawton, H. Ngan, M. C. Pearson, H. P. Pim,B. J. Preston, B. Ross, Nina Sacharias-Saarelinn, Louise Sheppard,P. Stanley, G. T. Vaughan, Jennifer M. Weller, Dilys Wills, J. R. M.Wilson.Radiotherapy-Joan 1. F. Dalton, R. N. Das, Shirley R. Drake, K. A.

El-Ghamrawi, P. J. Froud, M. S. H. Motawy, J. V. Watson.

The honorary degree ofM.sc. has been conferred on Dr. GeorgeKersley by Bath University for his work on rheumatology.

Dr. Evan Fletcher, physician-in-charge of the CardiovascularUnit, Belfast City Hospital, has been elected to the fellowshipof the American College of Cardiology.

AppointmentsDUMBRECK, ALEXANDER, M.B.Edin., D.M.R.D.: consultant radiologist,

Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy.GRANT, D. M., M.B.Cantab., F.R.C.S. : consultant neurosurgeon, the

Hospital for Sick Children and the National Hospitals for NervousDiseases, London.

MANN, CHRISTINE W., L.R.F.P.S.G., M.R.C.O.G. : consultant obstetricianand gynaecologist, Edinburgh Southern hospital group.

TIMPERLEY, W. R., D.M.Oxon., M.R.C.PATH.: consultant neuropatholo-gist, group laboratories, United Sheffield Hospitals.

WARD, J. D., M.D., B.sc.Lond., M.R.C.P.: consultant general physician,United Sheffield Hospitals.

South Western Regional Hospital Board:CODMAN, VALERIE A., M.B.Lond., F.F.A. R.c.s.: consultant anaesthetist,

Weston-super-Mare General Hospital.DUNSCOMBE, J. L., M.B.Brist., M.R.C.PATH., M.R.C.P.A., D.C.P., D.PATH.:

consultant pathologist, West Cornwall hospital group.GIBSON, M. J., M.B., B.sc.Manc., F.F.R., D.M.R.D.: consultantradiolo-

gist, Bristol clinical area, Frenchay Hospital.HARVEY, C. R., M.B.Lond., F.F.A. R.c.s.: consultant anaesthetist, West

Cornwall hospital group.HONNEYMAN, F. D., M.D.Belf., M.R.C.P.E., M.R.C.P.I.: consultant

geriatrician, North Gloucestershire hospital group.MALCOLM, NAPIER, M.B.Cantab., M.R.C.P., D.T.M.&H.: consultant

in general medicine, Weston-super-Mare General Hospital.MORTON, E. V. B., M.D.Edin., F.R.C.P.E.: consultant geriatrician,

West Cornwall hospital group.NELSON, S. D., M.B.Belf., M.R.C.PATH., F.R.C.P.I.: consultant patholo-

gist, Southmead Hospital, Bristol.NoEL, G. J., M.B., M.R.C.P.I.: consultant geriatrician, Devon and

Exeter hospital groups.STABLEFORTH, P. G., M.B.Lond., F.R.C.S.: consultant orthopaedic and

traumatic surgeon, United Bristol Hospitals.WENT, JANICE, M.B.Dubl., M.R.C.PATH.: consultant chemical patholo-

gist, Plymouth hospital group.WINTERTON, M. C., M.B.Lond., M.R.c.P.: consultant in general

medicine West Cornwall hospital group.

Western Regional Hospital Board, Scotland:ADAMS, F. G., M.B.Aberd., F.F.R., D.M.R.D.: consultant radiologist,

Glasgow Western and Gartnavel hospital group.DAwsoN, K. P., M.B.Glasg., M.R.C.P.G., D.OBST.: consultant paediatri-

cian, Lanarkshire area.DOIG, W. B., M.B.Glasg., M.R.C.P.E., M.R.C.P.G., D.C.H. : censultant

poediatric cardiologist, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow.JAMES, D. S., M.B.Sheff., D.C.H., DIP.ED., D.P.M.: consultant child

psychiatrist, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow.l4iusTAaA, M. H., M.B., F.F.A. R.C.S. : consultant ansesthetist. Law and

Stonehause Hospitals.SMITH, DONALD, M.B.Glasg., M.R.C.O.G.: consultant obstetrician and

gynaecologist, Ayrshire Central Hospital, Irvine.

Prison Medical Service:

LOTINGA, J. K., M.B.Durh.: principal medical Officer, WormwoodScrubs.

MuLLEN, N. A. J., M.B.Dubl., D.P.M.: principal medical efficer,Bristol.

STEPHEN, WILLIAM, M.B.Aberd. : principal medical officer, Birming-ham.