British Medical Association members are now able to use a new service to doctors which, until recently, has been largely exlusive to libraries in big hospitals and other institutions. At the time of writing, the BMA Library Dial-Up Medline Project has just completed its pilot stage and is due to be launched formally at the beginning of June. Trials started in November 1992 and the system is now up and running.

Idiopathic unconjugated hyperbilirubinaemia (Gilbert's syndrome) is a common benign disorder that, when seen in association with psychiatric illnesses, often leads to the inappropriate withholding of psychotropic medication. We describe three cases with Gilbert's syndrome and psychosis in which diagnosis of Gilbert's syndrome was delayed. This led to unnecessary investigations, further relapses and increased admissions to hospital. We emphasise the need for psychiatrists to be more aware of this benign condition.

Sir: The analysis of the consultant psychiatrist's caseload by Fagin et al (Psychiatric Bulletin, September 1995, 19, 532-535} is commendable and relevant to advances in the costing of care and future purchasing plans. The article nevertheless included several com mon misconceptions concerning standard NHS consultant contracts which I wish to draw attention to. While consultants have a professional contract which requires their continuing responsibility for the care of their patients, the available guidance defines this commitment as ten and not eleven sessions (3.5 hours each, adding up to 35 hours a week). There is no difference in the sessional commitments of whole-time and maximum parttime consultants, though the latter group is paid I/llth less in return for unrestricted private earnings. Consultants can and should include their travelling time between various locations of work in their calculation of their sessional commit ments. Maximum part-time consultants should also be able to include an allowance for their home-base travel. Consultant on-call duties are not additional to their sessional commitment but constitute part of it. And finally, consultants with standard con tracts may not be able to include their court or forensic work in the calculation of their NHS duties, especially when this work attracts a separate fee.