The proportion of births following an induced labour was lower in January-June 1990 (17.9 per cent) than 1987 (20.1 per cent). However, as Table 1 shows, the reported incidence of augmentation increased (23.4 per cent in 1990. compared with 17.4 per cent in 1987). These changes may be Contents Articles 13 The NSW Midwives' I)ata Collection 1990 15 Notifications study reveals discrepancies 18 Infant mortaIit and SIDS in NSW /969-1987 19 News and Comment LII Index 20 Published articles 1990-199/ [1111 Infectious diseases

A medical retrieval is a mission in which a doctor (usually accompanied by a nurse or paramedical personnel) travels to a sick or injured patient and accompanies him or her to a hospital, stabilising and managing the patient at the retrieval site and en route. A distinction is made between medical retrieval and patient transport with a medical escort. Medical retrievals may be primary (e.g. from the roadside at the site of a motor vehicle accident) or secondary (from one hospital to another). The vehicles used are road ambulances, fixed-wing air ambulances and helicopters.The Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation Branch of the NSW Health Department, in collaboration with the Centre for Health Economics, Research and Evaluation, has carried out a review of all medical retrievals by Sydney-based retrieval teams to tertiary referral centres in Sydney between February 1 and May 31, 1991. The objectives of the review were to: (SLSA), based at Prince Henry Hospital; Child Flight, based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children (RAHC); and NRMA Careflight, based at Westmead Hospital. Five retrieval teams use the transport vehicles provided by the operators. Two of these teams are employed by the retrieval operators, viz. SLSA and NRMA Careflight. The other three teams are hospital-based and are at the Grace Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, RAHC; the Lower Todman Intensive Care Unit, also at RAHC; and the Prince of Wales Children's Hospital. Retrievals are carried out by various combinations of operators and teams.The three helicopter operators (SLSA, Child Flight and NRMA Careflight) are private non-profit organisations which are individually contracted to the NSW Health Department to provide transport for medical retrievals. The Department's payments comprise a fixed monthly retainer and additional fees which depend on the amount of time for which the helicopter's engine is switched on (engine time). lEA LTH E PARr MEN T Contents LIIArticles 71 Medical retrievals to tertiary referral centres in Sythiey 73 Genesis ofaPHU disaster response plan Liii News and Comment 77 Attitudes to chemicals and pesticides Infectious diseases 78 Not fications

This paper describes the problem of serious injuries and deaths caused by firearm injuries in NSW. It summarises the data describing deaths and hospital separations due to firearm injuries for the state. It also outlines the provisions of the current gun law, which contains specific powers for health professionals.