This article aims to identify how accessible general dental practitioners thought that their services were and to identify the barriers they face in providing care for disabled people. A postal questionnaire survey was undertaken of all general dental practices in the Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley Health Authorities. Only one quarter of practices described themselves as having full physical access for disabled patients. However, despite this, over 90% of practices reported treating disabled patients and most were willing to treat more disabled patients. Dentists identified physical barriers, lack of time and the lack of domiciliary equipment as the main barriers to providing care for disabled people. Although dentists were willing to treat disabled patients few dental practices were accessible at the time of the survey. Further work is needed to ensure that dental practices comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

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The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) (DDA) aims to end the discrimination which many disabled people face in their dayto-day lives. 1 But how many dentists are aware of their responsibilities under this Act? Dentists are already bound by Parts I and II of the DDA, but Part III, which is due to come into effect in 2004, and which is concerned with physical alterations to premises, has potentially profound implications for many in dental practice. Health Authorities in Merseyside, in the North West of England have been exploring ways in which access to dental care for disabled people can be improved. In this paper, the first of a series of three, we outline the DDA and how it affects dentists in general practice.

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This collection of articles on selected aspects of patient safety in the operating room (OR) is preceded by a one-page introduction that sets the scene succinctly, if somewhat uncritically. The editors (supported by co-authors) then open with a thorough, up-to-date and thoughtful review of medication errors in the OR and an interesting case study of a comprehensive drug safety program in a perioperative setting, based on 'lean' methodology. Two interesting chapters on handovers follow, one in the intraoperative context and one concerning transfers from ORs to intensive care units. Best practices for central line insertion are summarised. Hand hygiene and environmental hygiene in the OR (including noise pollution) are addressedtopics about which relatively little has been written previously. Decision-making, situation awareness and communication are covered in some detail, followed by pressure ulcers and paediatric anaesthesia. The book ends strongly with a critical appraisal of checklists in the OR. I found this book interesting, up-to-date and generally well written, concise and thoughtful, although the chapters do vary in structure, style and quality. Despite the word "International" in the title of the series, the 26 authors are all from the USA-indeed, most are from Miami, St Louis (the editors' home towns) and Durham (the home of Duke University). It is therefore perhaps not surprising that no mention is made of the challenges faced by anaesthetists in low-income regions of the world, although these challenges are orders of magnitude greater than in affluent countries. Notably, measurement of anaesthetic mortality is also neglected. Nevertheless, the topics that are covered are important and certainly relevant to practice in Australia and New Zealand. I think many readers of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care will find this book useful and good value, both for money and for the time expended reading it.