The Salford Psychiatric Case Register was started in its present form in 1968 and collected data on all persons coming into contact with the psychiatric services who were residents of the old County Borough which had a population of around 130,000 people. Since the reorganization of local authority boundaries, Salford has become a Metropolitan District, with twice the population and the Register has collected data on this new area since 1976.

Earlier this year the Department of Psychiatry was invited to participate in a Careers Fair at the Medical School, organized by the Postgraduate Dean's Department rather than the BMA. This fair was aimed at medical students and junior doctors, and consisted of poster displays and stands by many different medical specialties. The students attended in huge numbers and in discussions afterwards their representatives commented that it was particularly helpful to realize that careers were available in specialties such as dermatology, venereology and some branches of chemical pathology.