Management for Psychiatrists
1
BOOK REVIEW Management for Psychiatrists 3rd edition D. Bhugra, S. Bell & A. Burns (Eds) London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2007 438 pp., £30 pbk ISBN 978-1-904671-49-7 All mental health clinicians, as they rise in seniority, will increasingly come up against the National Health Service as a system. This book presents itself as a reference guide to the issues that are commonly encountered. Although the title suggests that the book is targeted at psychiatrists, in my opinion the contents would be useful to any senior clinician who has some involvement in running or planning the delivery of mental health services. The early part of the book provides a succinct background history and a summary of the structure of the NHS. For this edition, in addition to updating all the chapters, the editors have focused on contentious issues such as ‘‘Payment by Results’’ and how this applies to mental health; these sections are particularly useful at giving an overview of the current debates. This part of the book struck me as a good reference text to dip into as required, giving a synopsis of government policies and initiatives. The final section of the book is much more practically orientated and is a guide to personal development and how to survive day-to-day in the job. This consists of diverse advice on everything from getting the job you really want, to chairing committees and dealing with the media. This part sits incongruously with the rest of the book, and is almost a separate book-within-a-book, but in my opinion is the most relevant and useful section, and would benefit from being read in its entirety. Overall, this book gives a helpful overview of the current state of mental health services for all senior clinicians. However, given the pace of change in the health service, I hope that the editors will consider updating the text more frequently (the last edition was published in 1995). KAJAL PATEL Specialist Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK E-mail: [email protected] Journal of Mental Health, June 2008; 17(3): 347 ISSN 0963-8237 print/ISSN 1360-0567 online Ó Shadowfax Publishing and Informa UK Ltd. DOI: 10.1080/09638230802052252 J Ment Health Downloaded from informahealthcare.com by McMaster University on 10/28/14 For personal use only.
Transcript of Management for Psychiatrists
BOOK REVIEW
Management for Psychiatrists
3rd edition
D. Bhugra, S. Bell & A. Burns (Eds)
London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2007
438 pp., £30 pbk
ISBN 978-1-904671-49-7
All mental health clinicians, as they rise in seniority, will increasingly come up against the
National Health Service as a system. This book presents itself as a reference guide to the
issues that are commonly encountered. Although the title suggests that the book is targeted
at psychiatrists, in my opinion the contents would be useful to any senior clinician who has
some involvement in running or planning the delivery of mental health services.
The early part of the book provides a succinct background history and a summary of the
structure of the NHS. For this edition, in addition to updating all the chapters, the editors
have focused on contentious issues such as ‘‘Payment by Results’’ and how this applies to
mental health; these sections are particularly useful at giving an overview of the current
debates. This part of the book struck me as a good reference text to dip into as required,
giving a synopsis of government policies and initiatives.
The final section of the book is much more practically orientated and is a guide to
personal development and how to survive day-to-day in the job. This consists of diverse
advice on everything from getting the job you really want, to chairing committees and
dealing with the media. This part sits incongruously with the rest of the book, and is almost a
separate book-within-a-book, but in my opinion is the most relevant and useful section, and
would benefit from being read in its entirety.
Overall, this book gives a helpful overview of the current state of mental health services for
all senior clinicians. However, given the pace of change in the health service, I hope that the
editors will consider updating the text more frequently (the last edition was published in
1995).
KAJAL PATEL
Specialist Registrar in Forensic Psychiatry,
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust,
London, UK
E-mail: [email protected]
Journal of Mental Health,
June 2008; 17(3): 347
ISSN 0963-8237 print/ISSN 1360-0567 online � Shadowfax Publishing and Informa UK Ltd.
DOI: 10.1080/09638230802052252
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