Access to private space for psychiatric assessments is crucial to facilitate the effective gathering of salient information while preserving the dignity of patients. In this article, we discuss the current availability of private space for liaison psychiatry services on in-patient wards in general hospitals and reflect on how this affects communication with patients. Additionally, we propose solutions for healthcare trusts in addressing this issue.

A job plan is part of a modern contract, informing employee and employer what they are paid to do. It is not a mandatory, inflexible tablet of stone, but frequently National Health Service (NHS) clinicians find themselves working, to their detriment, in excess of what they have agreed to do, by bridging the gap between resources and demand. So what do we do when we are persistently going above and beyond and there is no more left to give: how can we fix the system, and who really gets left behind?

This brief article reflects on the relationship between psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies (pharma), which continues to generate debate and concerns. We suggest that psychiatrists should consider both the biomedical ethical principles and how values guide actions and clinical decision-making in their dealings with pharma. In addition, the Royal College of Psychiatrists should err towards eschewing influences that might be regarded by others as distorting its position, and individual psychiatrists should declare interests that others might regard as competing/conflicting in order to maintain the trust of patients and the public.