1042 the gap has been filled by nurses employed but the increasing cost of doing so may cause some G.P.S to adopt the American solution by recruiting and training a lay employee to become their physician’s assistant. I am quite sure that a lay function of this kind will emerge-and probably it already exists in a few primarycare organisations. If so, then we can at least turn to our colleagues in North America for precedents in creating the training programmes and legislation which will be needed to make the most of such an imaginative opportunity. some extent
by
’
the
G.P.S
themselves,4
Medical Care Research Unit, 21 Claremont Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AA.
B. L. E. C. REEDY.
NEW END HOSPITAL
SIR,--Your note (April 12, p. 874) is incorrect in its reference to the demise of the New End Endocrine Clinic. This clinic has been transferred to the new Royal Free Hospital in Pond Street, which is only half a mile away. New End Hospital itself is now a psychiatric and geriatric hospital. The character, purpose, and facilities of the New End Endocrine Unit have been preserved. All the medical, surgical, nursing, and technical staff of the unit have been retained. The endocrine laboratory has been expanded to link with the metabolic ward of the new hospital. The clinical practice of " surgeon, physician, and radiotherapist combined in the management of patients with thyroid disease " has been preserved, as has the " excellent rapport that existed between the clinician and the laboratory ". There is no demise, but rather a rebirth. C. W. H. HAVARD JEAN GINSBURG A. W. G. GOOLDEN Royal Free Hospital, M. J. LANGE Pond Street, Hampstead, L. R. H. GRACEY. London NW3 2QG.
SIR,—I must take issue with your Note (April 12, p. 874), You said: " The medical side Demise at New End. came later... " You have omitted the name of J. W. Linnell, to whom is due the main credit for the concept of a combined medical and surgical thyroid unit at New End Hospital right from the beginning. The close cooperation between the physician and surgeon in thyroid diseases was pioneered by Dr Linnell, whose partners were Dunhill, Keynes, and Piercy. Linnell was also the instigator and virtually the single-handed founder (together with Lord Brain and Sir Thomas Dunhill) of the London Thyroid Club in 1950. He died in December, 1967, in his 89th year, and he was a delightful man and a remarkable character in many other respects. 38 Westmoreland Terrace, London SW1V 3HL.
V. C. MEDVEI.
TRAINING IN FAMILY PLANNING
SIR The Joint Committee on Contraception of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynxcologists and of the Royal College of General Practitioners was established over two years ago. Since September, 1973, when it published its intentions in your journal, the committee has been recognising courses of theoretical instruction in contraception and also approving training clinics and instructing doctors. Trainees who complete the training syllabus for doctors can obtain the Joint Committee’s certificate. In the meantime the Family Planning Association has continued training activities within its own clinics and has been granting its own certificate. The F.P.A. is now in the process of handing over most of its clinic activities to the 4.
Hasler, J. C.,
et
al. Br. med. J. 1972, i, 232.
health authorities. The F.P.A. intend to continue training doctors until April, 1976, and possibly longer. However, it is obviously uneconomical for two parallel supervisory organisations to be carrying out almost identical functions. It has therefore been agreed that the activities of the Joint Committee and the training department of the F.P.A. will merge during the coming year. As a first step all certificates issued by both organisations will be in identical form with effect from May 1, 1975, and will cost E7.50. To maintain the high standard of training in family planning the now tripartite Joint Committee on Contraception believes that doctors teaching family planning should possess this joint certificate or equivalent training. The approval of the joint certificate is in no way aligned to the National Health Service item-of-service payment for contraceptive services, but we believe that G.P.s and doctors working in family-planning clinics will find courses recognised by the Joint Committee appropriate training. Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynæcologists, Place, Regent’s Park,
27 Sussex
London NW1 4RG.
In
JOHN D. O. LOUDON. Chairman, Joint Committee on Contraception.
England Now
INVARIABLY, art exhibitions by spare-time artists are shot through with glimpses of genius; moments when, for me, the craftsman catches an effect that transcends his medium and subject. In the annual show of the Medical Art Society at Leighton House this year, I found the thrills -in the watercolours and sculpture. Watercolours only take pit when the colours float in a drenching of water. This effect is beautifully exploited by Suzanne Clarke. Her subject, Stourhead Park, with its lakes and reflections, lends itself to the medium. Roland Rushton goes effortlessly after the character of his landscapes with such ease that he is able to concentrate on mood-his " Summer Corn " and the " Old Harbour at Rhodes". John Horder prefers a more careful hold on his paint washes. Haarlem ", a painting which echoes the stillness of a Vermeer, is a poem in paint, the colour simple and "
harmonious. But, whereas the watercolour- painter of hours
can
snatch
a
paint a picture, where do sculptors in the medical profession find the time to bring their craft to the high degree of skill exhibited in a piece of work like " Secret Thoughts " by the society’s president, Francis Roe ? Charm and grace are,elusive qualities to achieve in sculpture, but Francis Roe and Neil Weir exhibit them in their bronzes. Neil Weir’s " Girl Reading " sits absorbed in her book, her clothes and figure finely drawn. Oils too, of course, require confident handling. One canvas with the paint applied in broad pleasing patches is Saloon Bar " by A. N. Sargant. His work singles itself out by the quality of light given out from sombre colours. Warm sunlight, filtered through the murky glass of a coloured glass pub window, warms up and radiates from his canvas. J. P. M. Bensted, also in oils, in a style that is usually called primitive but has its own remarkable sophistication, gives free reign to fantasy. Visitors were amused by his " Pierrot and the White Horse ". Crafts are of praiseworthy high technical standard this year. R. Pracy’s two woodcuts of French scenes have a couple
to
"
medieval charm. Isabella Paterson’s decorative batik works deserve close inspection to reveal their nuance of line. No exhibition can be " made " by its setting, and the. Medical Art Society needs no support of that kind. But it is fortunate to be housed in a delightful top room in the incredible Leighton House.
by
’
the
G.P.S
themselves,4
Medical Care Research Unit, 21 Claremont Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AA.
B. L. E. C. REEDY.
NEW END HOSPITAL
SIR,--Your note (April 12, p. 874) is incorrect in its reference to the demise of the New End Endocrine Clinic. This clinic has been transferred to the new Royal Free Hospital in Pond Street, which is only half a mile away. New End Hospital itself is now a psychiatric and geriatric hospital. The character, purpose, and facilities of the New End Endocrine Unit have been preserved. All the medical, surgical, nursing, and technical staff of the unit have been retained. The endocrine laboratory has been expanded to link with the metabolic ward of the new hospital. The clinical practice of " surgeon, physician, and radiotherapist combined in the management of patients with thyroid disease " has been preserved, as has the " excellent rapport that existed between the clinician and the laboratory ". There is no demise, but rather a rebirth. C. W. H. HAVARD JEAN GINSBURG A. W. G. GOOLDEN Royal Free Hospital, M. J. LANGE Pond Street, Hampstead, L. R. H. GRACEY. London NW3 2QG.
SIR,—I must take issue with your Note (April 12, p. 874), You said: " The medical side Demise at New End. came later... " You have omitted the name of J. W. Linnell, to whom is due the main credit for the concept of a combined medical and surgical thyroid unit at New End Hospital right from the beginning. The close cooperation between the physician and surgeon in thyroid diseases was pioneered by Dr Linnell, whose partners were Dunhill, Keynes, and Piercy. Linnell was also the instigator and virtually the single-handed founder (together with Lord Brain and Sir Thomas Dunhill) of the London Thyroid Club in 1950. He died in December, 1967, in his 89th year, and he was a delightful man and a remarkable character in many other respects. 38 Westmoreland Terrace, London SW1V 3HL.
V. C. MEDVEI.
TRAINING IN FAMILY PLANNING
SIR The Joint Committee on Contraception of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynxcologists and of the Royal College of General Practitioners was established over two years ago. Since September, 1973, when it published its intentions in your journal, the committee has been recognising courses of theoretical instruction in contraception and also approving training clinics and instructing doctors. Trainees who complete the training syllabus for doctors can obtain the Joint Committee’s certificate. In the meantime the Family Planning Association has continued training activities within its own clinics and has been granting its own certificate. The F.P.A. is now in the process of handing over most of its clinic activities to the 4.
Hasler, J. C.,
et
al. Br. med. J. 1972, i, 232.
health authorities. The F.P.A. intend to continue training doctors until April, 1976, and possibly longer. However, it is obviously uneconomical for two parallel supervisory organisations to be carrying out almost identical functions. It has therefore been agreed that the activities of the Joint Committee and the training department of the F.P.A. will merge during the coming year. As a first step all certificates issued by both organisations will be in identical form with effect from May 1, 1975, and will cost E7.50. To maintain the high standard of training in family planning the now tripartite Joint Committee on Contraception believes that doctors teaching family planning should possess this joint certificate or equivalent training. The approval of the joint certificate is in no way aligned to the National Health Service item-of-service payment for contraceptive services, but we believe that G.P.s and doctors working in family-planning clinics will find courses recognised by the Joint Committee appropriate training. Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynæcologists, Place, Regent’s Park,
27 Sussex
London NW1 4RG.
In
JOHN D. O. LOUDON. Chairman, Joint Committee on Contraception.
England Now
INVARIABLY, art exhibitions by spare-time artists are shot through with glimpses of genius; moments when, for me, the craftsman catches an effect that transcends his medium and subject. In the annual show of the Medical Art Society at Leighton House this year, I found the thrills -in the watercolours and sculpture. Watercolours only take pit when the colours float in a drenching of water. This effect is beautifully exploited by Suzanne Clarke. Her subject, Stourhead Park, with its lakes and reflections, lends itself to the medium. Roland Rushton goes effortlessly after the character of his landscapes with such ease that he is able to concentrate on mood-his " Summer Corn " and the " Old Harbour at Rhodes". John Horder prefers a more careful hold on his paint washes. Haarlem ", a painting which echoes the stillness of a Vermeer, is a poem in paint, the colour simple and "
harmonious. But, whereas the watercolour- painter of hours
can
snatch
a
paint a picture, where do sculptors in the medical profession find the time to bring their craft to the high degree of skill exhibited in a piece of work like " Secret Thoughts " by the society’s president, Francis Roe ? Charm and grace are,elusive qualities to achieve in sculpture, but Francis Roe and Neil Weir exhibit them in their bronzes. Neil Weir’s " Girl Reading " sits absorbed in her book, her clothes and figure finely drawn. Oils too, of course, require confident handling. One canvas with the paint applied in broad pleasing patches is Saloon Bar " by A. N. Sargant. His work singles itself out by the quality of light given out from sombre colours. Warm sunlight, filtered through the murky glass of a coloured glass pub window, warms up and radiates from his canvas. J. P. M. Bensted, also in oils, in a style that is usually called primitive but has its own remarkable sophistication, gives free reign to fantasy. Visitors were amused by his " Pierrot and the White Horse ". Crafts are of praiseworthy high technical standard this year. R. Pracy’s two woodcuts of French scenes have a couple
to
"
medieval charm. Isabella Paterson’s decorative batik works deserve close inspection to reveal their nuance of line. No exhibition can be " made " by its setting, and the. Medical Art Society needs no support of that kind. But it is fortunate to be housed in a delightful top room in the incredible Leighton House.
