Journal of Perioperative Practice

Life is full of new experiences and on 27 April 2000 a new one occurred for me. As a Nursing Officer in QARANC I was deployed for three months to the Britfor Military Hospital in Pristina, Kosovo to join 22 Field Hospital for my first operational tour. I was to be the only theatre sister in charge of two surgical teams which comprised five theatre technicians, two anaesthetists and two surgeons (one general and one orthopaedic).

You will probably look at the title of this and want to move on to more interesting material, but do hang on for a little bit longer. You may already know about it, but there will be an impact on you and your department as a result of this initiative. Caldicott may just be one of the seminal moments in the development of the NHS; it does have impact and could develop the cause of patients' rights a little bit further. This is a very broad overview, but it does have some helpful hints.

This article is the First Prize winning entry in the Essay Section of the Alison Bell Memorial Writer's Award 2000, sponsored by NATN and Regent. It is based on an essay submitted for the Evidence Based Practice Module of the post-graduate programme in Health Promotion and Health Studies at Bath Spa University College, Bath.

This is the second of a series of articles based on Physiology and Anatomy, a homeostatic approach by John Clancy and Andrew McVicar. This article looks at the musculo-skeletal system, with particular emphasis on the spine. It identifies spinal deformities, injuries and maladies, and various types of surgical intervention.