To determine the thoroughness and accuracy with which medical certificates for cremation are completed, a record was made, during normal processing of the documents, of the number of questions that were not answered or answered wrongly, or in which clarification was required. Of 835 sets of forms only 346 (41 %) were completed sufficiently accurately for the cremation to proceed without further enquiry. Junior doctors contributed the most errors but general practitioners and consultants also contributed large numbers of errors. Doctors ought to be far more accurate and thorough in completing cremation certificates than were those audited here. The results cast doubt on the reliability of information supplied on other forms. In view of the high frequency of poorly completed forms, review by a medical referee remains essential.

SUMMARYThe ideal requirements

This paper reviews the concept of professional autonomy from an historical perspective. It became formalised in the United Kingdom only after a long struggle throughout most of the nineteenth century. In its pure form professional autonomy implies unlimited powers to undertake medical investigations and to prescribe treatment, irrespective of cost. Doctors alone should determine the quality of care and the levels of remuneration to which they should be entitled. In the second half of the twentieth century a steady erosion of professional autonomy occurred in the United Kingdom. The level of remuneration has been restricted for most doctors for nearly fifty years, whilst the costs of health care have steadily reduced the doctor's ability to provide unrestricted care within the health care system. Reorganisation of the National Health Service in 1983 and 1991 has substantially eroded professional autonomy, to the point where research developments, clinical judgement and ethical standards are all now being placed at risk.

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