Training in cognitive behavioural interventions on acute psychiatric inpatient wards

There has been a drive towards addressing the types of care and therapeutic interventions available to people with serious mental illness, which is reflected in the latest government mental health policy initiatives. Recent evidence strongly supports the implementation of psychological and social interventions for people with psychosis, and in particular the use of cognitive behavioural techniques. Until now, the main focus has been on people living in the community. This study examines the delivery of psychosocial interventions training to qualified psychiatric nurses and unqualified staff on seven acute psychiatric admission wards in London, UK. The approach had the strength of on-site delivery, follow-up role modelling of the interventions and clinical supervision. Despite this, in some cases the training was less successful, mainly because of staffing and leadership weaknesses. The impact of training in these methods and the implications for mental health education and practice development are discussed

An AFM study of the processing of hydrogen passivated silicon(1 1 1) of a low miscut angle

We present atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements from a passivated silicon crystal miscut by 0.1° and show the etching regime to be significantly different from surfaces with a larger miscut angle. A simple kinetic model is developed to explain the results and is used to derive the optimal etching conditions for nominally flat Si(1 1 1)–(1×1)H. We show that small changes in miscut angle can alter the kinetic steady state and promote the formation of deep etch pits, even on the least stable, miscut surface. Collisions of steps with these pits result in arrays of stable, self-aligned ‘etch hillocks' over micron dimensions. Following preparation, we use AFM to observe the initial growth of native oxide on the Si(1 1 1)–(1×1)H surface, and demonstrate that AFM is a sensitive probe to surface oxidation in the sub-monolayer regime

Simple design for the transportation of ex situ prepared hydrogen passivated silicon

We present a design for a simple, reliable, and robust storage container suitable for the transportation of silicon crystals between clean room and experiment after hydrogen passivation by a "wet-chemical" process. The container stores the crystal in an inert atmosphere that is depleted of the water and oxygen responsible for surface oxidation. An atomic-force microscopy study of the surfaces of stored crystals confirmed that the storage method was successful and that surface oxidation can be impeded for at least 24 h. Our design is also suitable for the storage of other systems that degrade under atmospheric conditions