Aims and MethodA cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the safety of rooms used by medical staff to interview patients in out-patient and in-patient settings of a mental health trust. An assessment tool was designed, and examined the features of an interview room that were likely to promote safety.ResultsThe survey included 112 rooms and demonstrated shortcomings that compromised interview room safety. Rooms were frequently overcrowded with furniture (n=30), cluttered with loose objects (n=101, 90%) and used for multiple purposes (n=82, 73%). Room layout often compromised either access to alarm systems (n=51, 46%) or exit from rooms (n=99, 88%). Necessary facilities for summoning assistance were found to be lacking.Clinical ImplicationsThe safety of interview rooms has not been emphasised sufficiently within everyday working practice and should be revisited.
We would like to respond to Yak et al regarding their reservations about the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in Part I of the Membership Examination (Psychiatric Bulletin, July 2004, 28, 265-266).The College OSCE has not been borrowed from any other college's examination. We have, however, learned from others' experiences, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. OSCEs have been used for clinical assessment for 30 years and there is a considerable body of evidence to support their validity. In psychiatry, most of the evidence in postgraduates has come from abroad, particularly from the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, University of Toronto, Canada (Hodges et al, 1998). The case for modernising the college examinations was ably put by the current and previous Chief Examiners (Tyrer & Oyebode, 2004).
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