372

that these individuals deserve and need follow-up by
trained members of the permanent staff. We recog-
nise that this has implications in terms ofthe organis-
ation of both service and training arrangements and
requires further debate within the College.

We would suggest that audit of follow-up arrange-
ments for these groups of patients must be a high
priority for the College if we are to avoid the risk of
having 'back ward' type care in the community.

I. A. DAVIDSON
R.G.PooLE

Central Liverpool Mental Health Team
Royal Liverpool Hospital
Liverpool L7 8XP

Long-intervaljob-sharing
DEAR SIRS
Job-sharing is now accepted practice in the NHS. It is
attractive to married women with children, and to
those approaching retirement. So far the sharing has
been on a weekly basis, with the week's sessions
divided between two people. I am exploring the
possibility of sharing on the basis of longer intervals,

Correspondence

such as two or three months. This might be attractive
to women with children at school who want to work
during the school terms but not during the holidays,
and to those approaching retirement who want to
develop interests which require longer periods than a
few days. My own interest is off-shore sailing which
requires a month or two to allow a satisfactory
passage.

The main drawback to the idea is any possible
adverse effect on patients or other staff. After
discussions with local colleagues, managers and
paramedical staff, it seems to me that it is worth
trying, possibly with a built-in 'action research'
project to evaluate it. I should be interested to hear
from others who might find such an arrangement
attractive.

As Benjamin Franklin is said to have said, there's
no harm in retirement so long as it doesn't interfere
with your work.

JOHN S. PRICE
Department ofPsychiatry
Milton Keynes General Hospital
Standing Way
Milton Keynes MK65LD

NEW PuBLICATION

Reading Lists for Trainees

General Psychiatry

This reading list has been produced by the College Library.
Specialists in each area were consulted and their recommen-
dations have been used to compile the list of some 250 journal
references.
Although it is not an official compilation of recommended read-
ing, its purpose is to create a realistic database to assist trainees
in preparing for their examinations.
The list is available from the College, price £2.00.