Audit Commission tackles anaesthetic services

Abstract

There is no causal link between MMR vaccine and autismEditor-Nichol et al considerably understate their case when they write "chance alone dictates that some cases [of autism] will appear shortly after vaccination." 1 Such a temporal association is unremarkable, given the epidemiology of autism and MMR vaccine.Over the time described by Wakefield et al 2 MMR vaccine was given to around 600 000 children each year in Britain 3 and the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders was 91/100 000. 4 Assuming that the diagnosis of autism is evenly distributed over the second and third years of life and that the incidence over this period approximates to the current prevalence, 5 over the eight years that the reported cases represent autism would have been diagnosed in around 364 cases in the two months after MMR vaccination (the time that the authors regard as noteworthy-(((91/ 100 000) × 600 000) × 8) × (2/24) = 364). The reported cases therefore represent a fraction of the cases of autism whose onset coincides with the administration of MMR vaccine.

The Nurse Anaesthetist

“…However, before the implementation of such a practitioner, national training and accreditation is required. Arrowsmith (1998) et al state that it is too late for nurses to be part of anaesthesia in Britain. I totally disagree and would say it is too early -but only just!…”

Anaesthetists consume 3% of trust expenditure but affect 60% of trust income

“…3 4 Having read these and attended the Audit Commission's day in London, we think that the letters are misinformed and based on an incorrect premise.…”