It has been my aim, in preparing the revised editions, to incorporate
knowledge gained in the sixteen years since original publication,
whilst retaining all of the wisdom of the original author. All
statements in the first person, other than in this note, are those
of the original author.
This booklet was written in England for a British readership,
but it is now widely distributed in the USA, Europe and as far
afield as Australia. Grammar, word usage and spelling follow British
standards. Overseas readers may be unfamiliar with certain abbreviations
and other matters; a problem which this brief note aims to redress.
In Britain a doctor may not advertise his practise or specialities;
hence the author, who was a highly respected consultant surgeon,
wrote under the pseudonym of Dr. John Smith. The author has died
since the second edition of this booklet was published.
Appendix 3 appeared in
the first edition but was omitted from the second edition to avoid
professional problems at the time. Since the author's death there
is no longer any need to deprive the reader of the information
contained therein and it has been restored.
The N.H.S. is the National Health Service - a Government funded
organization that owns and runs most hospitals, pays most doctors,
and provides health care which is generally free at the time of
provision. Everyone in employment contributes to the costs of
the N.H.S. through deductions from wages or salary. Patients may
'go private' for particular treatment, in which case they have
greater choice of who treats them and when, but they pay directly
for all services received.
In Britain, whilst the age of majority is 18, a minor may authorize
his own medical treatment from the age of 16 (and from the age
of 12 for urgent life-or-death treatment in some cases) without
requiring parental consent. Naturally, the law regarding age of
majority and consent may be different in other countries.
1979 1st Edition by Dr John Smith
1980 2nd Edition by Dr John Smith
1993 3rd (revised) Edition by Geoffrey Francis
1994 4th Edition by Geoffrey Francis
1995 5th Edition by Geoffrey Francis
1996 HTML Edition by Geoffrey Francis
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