To evaluate whether the implementation of the Rapid Assessment, Interface and Discharge (RAID) integrated model improves access to psychiatric assessment and reduces cost of health service provision in an acute hospital. Length of hospital stay was calculated using a case-by-case matched control design. Readmission rates were calculated and survival analysis was used to measure endurance in the community following discharge.

In an acute hospital with 600 beds, the total savings in bed days through reducing length of stay and readmissions was 43–64 beds per day. The elderly care wards provided the majority of bed savings.

The development of a rapid response, age-inclusive, comprehensive psychiatric team integrated in an acute hospital can lead to significant savings in health service provision.

This is a longitudinal, observational prospective study carried out in a 50-bedded dementia care unit. Fifty patients who had been assessed in 2009 as part of an earlier study were reassessed 2 years later.

All patients had a diagnosis of dementia, with Alzheimer's dementia being the most common. By 2011, 23 (46%) patients reviewed in 2009 were deceased. We found that there was a reduction in psychotic symptoms in patients 2 years later despite none of them being on antipsychotics. The most common problems on follow-up were apathy, agitation and aggression, irritability and anxiety.

Our findings support the view of the need to regularly review patients with dementia who have psychotic symptoms that require antipsychotics, as long-term treatment may not be required or beneficial in light of known adverse side-effects.

To assess the usefulness of the electronic patient record, we used the search engine Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) to scan all acute admissions during 2008 for possible substance use disorders. In addition, screening interviews were undertaken with 75 in-patients, and documentation in their files was compared with results of screening interviews.

Of 839 acute admissions during 2008, 47% of males and 29% of females had reference to a substance misuse problem in their file. Documentation was unsystematic and inconsistent and mostly occurred in progress notes rather than in structured questionnaires. Screening interviews and manual review of files of 75 current in-patients confirmed that substance use disorders were common, but poorly documented.

The study highlights the power of search engines in scanning electronic clinical records, but also identified the limitations of unsystematic documentation in research and practice. Mental health staff were reluctant to diagnose or rate severity of substance misuse problems.

This study utilised qualitative methods to explore medical students' experiences of a clinical attachment in psychiatry and examine the impact of these on career intentions. Fifteen 4th-year students from the University of Bristol were interviewed and their responses analysed.

Four key themes of role models, difference, stigma and career choice emerged from the analysis. Role models could be more influential than the specialty when choosing career options. Many students experienced psychiatry as being different to other specialties. For some this was a reason not to pursue psychiatry as a career but for others it was a positive aspect of the specialty. Stigma arose from a variety of sources, notably from medical students themselves.

These findings are relevant given the current recruitment problems in psychiatry and need to be considered in the planning and delivery of undergraduate medical education.

This study analyses whether there is a relationship between a psychiatry placement during the UK Foundation Programme and appointment to psychiatry training. A survey was distributed to all foundation year 2 doctors in the UK to determine how many have exposure to psychiatry before specialty applications and whether such exposure correlates with choosing psychiatry as a career.

The study showed that 14.6% of foundation doctors had exposure to psychiatry prior to specialty applications. Of these, 14.9% chose psychiatry as a career in contrast to only 1.8% of those who did not have psychiatry exposure (χ2P = 0.0008; risk ratio 8.19).

This study adds weight to calls to increase the proportion of psychiatry posts in the Foundation Programme as part of a broader strategy to improve recruitment. To answer this question categorically, we suggest a prospective cohort study looking at how attitudes and career preferences change with exposure to psychiatry posts.