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GMC knife advice
New guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC) relating to stab injuries is reported in the BMJ. At the present time, emergency physicians are required to report all gunshot wounds to the police. The revised GMC guidance, which came into force in October 2009, now requires doctors to report attacks with a knife/blade or sharp instrument, whether the patient is an adult or a child. A representative from the GMC states that they are not asking doctors to force patients to speak to the police, but they are asking them to pass on information which will assist the police in helping to protect patients, the public and staff from risks of serious harm. BMJ (2009;339:b4004)
Speed bumps
It has been estimated that by 2020, road traffic collisions will have moved from ninth to third in the world disease burden ranking. A Cochrane review analysed whether area-wide traffic calming interventions actually do help to prevent traffic related crashes, injuries and deaths or whether they merely serve as a frustration for drivers trying to get to …