Ostomy; Quality of life; Employment; Psychological; Veterans BACKGROUND: Intestinal stomas (ostomies) have been associated negatively with multiple aspects of health-related quality of life. This article examines the relationship between employment status and

Re-organization of local government in Scotland, after May 1975, produced a rationalization of the structure and administration of most of the emergency services, which was designed to improve management and efficiency. Yet new problems of scale were introduced, together with difficulties in relating the different characteristics of emergency services in isolated rural areas, and in high density urban zones. Strathclyde Region, for example, created by amalgamation of a number of existing counties and burghs, extends to a total area of some 5,348 square miles/13,850 square km. (around one sixth of the total area of Scotland), and contains more than 2.5 million people (approximately one half of Scotland's population). Most of the population lives in the Greater Glasgow area, while the western part of the region remains very sparsely populated hill and moor land. On reaganization, therefore, emergency

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