‘Procrustes was a robber of Attica, who placed all who fell into his hands upon an iron bed. If they were longer than the bed, he cut off the redundant part; if shorter, he stretched them till they fitted it. [Any attempt to reduce men to one standard, one way of thinking, or one way of acting, is called placing them on Procrustes' bed, and the person who makes the attempt is called Procrustes].’

These departmental guidelines at last revise advice of the 1968 vintage—that all parasuicides should be admitted to hospital and assessed by a psychiatrist. Of course this was never achieved, nor even attempted in many areas. It is a welcome set of new recommendations, therefore, which will help ensure that what actually happens is done well. It is great credit to undergraduate medical teachers that such confidence can now be expressed in newly qualified doctors carrying out these psychosocial assessments. It recognizes that suitably trained nurses and social workers can assess and manage aftercare of these patients quite competently.

Education for consultants may appear to some to be a paradox. Consultants are often expected to be providers of an endless fund of knowledge, expertise and skill. Their own needs have perhaps been subordinated as a consequence. Traditionally education for consultants has been provided by postgraduate conferences where the participants are invariably passive recipients of a series of lectures. For the participant, weighted down by the excellence of the gastronomic hospitality, these occasions may become a personal battle against creeping postprandial somnolence, and are only enlivened by the conviviality of social encounters and renewed aquaintances. Their educational value may be less profound.

Community psychiatry means different things to different people. Since the 1970s the American model of community psychiatry based on mental health clinics has attracted heavy criticism, whilst the UK concept of rooting community psychiatric services firmly within primary health care has gained increasing support. The need for community-orientated psychiatric services is generally agreed upon but definition of community and the mode of delivery are not. In Australia both free and private health care are available; community health centres and community mental health clinics exist (sometimes literally) side by side.

In February 1984 at the Quarterly Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor A. Guz from the Department of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital, presented a paper with the above title. In this paper he raised a number of points regarding the role of liaison psychiatry and of the psychiatrists involved in practising it. The paper collated the views of himself and other professors of medicine, and obviously it is important that we as psychiatrists take note of the opinions expressed by people with such an extensive knowledge of medicine. Many of the points which Professor Guz raised I found myself to be in total agreement with; however, there were one or two issues which I think perhaps deserve a reply and I would like to attempt to do this through the Bulletin. As many of the Bulletin readers will know, there is an increasing interest in liaison psychiatry and this has been recognized by the College in the recent establishment of a special interest group. I should perhaps point out, however, that the views expressed in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily represent those of any other liaison psychiatrist, or of the special interest group.