Further information

We have included the following organisations because, on preliminary investigation, they may be of use to the reader. However, we do not have first-hand experience of each organisation and so cannot guarantee the organisation’s integrity. The reader must therefore exercise his or her own discretion and judgement when making further enquiries.

Benefits Enquiry Line

Helpline: 0800 882200
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
Minicom: 0800 243355
N. Ireland: 0800 220674
Government agency giving information and advice on sickness and disability benefits for people with disabilities and their carers.

British Association of Dermatologists and British Dermatological Nursing Group

4 Fitzroy Square London W1T 5HQ
Tel: 020 7383 0266
Website: www.bad.org.uk
Represents dermatologists around the country. Provides members of the public with a list of derma­tologists in their area, but does not recommend specific doctors. To consult a dermatologist, it is necessary to be referred by a GP.
The Nursing Group offers support and advice to dermatological nurses.

British Complementary Medicine Association

PO Box 5122 Bournemouth Dorset BH8 0WG
Tel: 0845 345 5977
Website: www.bcma.co.uk
Professional body that offers lists of qualified and insured practitioners of complementary medicine.

British Skin Foundation

4 Fitzroy Square London W1T 5HQ
Tel: 020 7383 0266
Website: www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk
Charity that funds research into skin diseases.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)

MidCity Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6NA
Tel: 020 7067 5800
Website: www.nice.org.uk
Provides guidance on treatments and care for people using the NHS in England and Wales. Patient information leaflets are available for each piece of guidance issued.

Psoriasis Association

7 Milton Street Northampton NN2 7JG
Tel: 01604 711129
Helpline: 0845 676 0076
Website: www.psoriasis­association.org.uk
Provides information on different aspects of psoriasis, as well as promoting research. Produces a journal four times a year and organises an annual conference. Has self-help support groups.

Psoriatic Arthropathy Alliance

PO Box 111 St Albans Hertfordshire AL2 3JQ
Tel: 0870 770 3212
Website: www.paalliance.org
Raises awareness of psoriatic arthropathy. Provides information, produces a regular journal and puts people in touch with each other. You don’t have to be a member if you wish to receive information or use the helpline.

Skin Care Campaign

Hill House Highgate Hill London N19 5NA
Tel: 020 7561 8249
Website: www.skincarecampaign.org
An alliance of patient groups, companies and other organisations with a common interest in skin health.

THE INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION

After reading this text, you may feel that you would like further information on the subject. The internet is of course an excellent place to look and there are many websites with useful information about medical disorders, related charities and support groups. For those who do not have a computer at home some bars and cafes offer facilities for accessing the internet. These are listed in the Yellow Pages under ‘Internet Bars and Cafes’ and ‘Internet Providers’. Your local library offers a similar facility and has staff to help you find the information that you need.
It should always be remembered, however, that the internet is unregulated and anyone is free to set up a website and add information to it. Many websites offer impartial advice and information that has been compiled and checked by qualified medical professionals. Some, on the other hand, are run by commercial organisations with the purpose of promoting their own products. Others still are run by pressure groups, some of which will provide carefully assessed and accurate information whereas others may be suggesting medications or treatments that are not supported by the medical and scientific community.
Unless you know the address of the website you want to visit – for example, www.familydoctor.co.uk – you may find the following guidelines useful when searching the internet for information.

SEARCH ENGINES AND OTHER SEARCHABLE SITES

Google (www.google.co.uk) is the most popular search engine used in the UK, followed by Yahoo! (http://uk.yahoo.com) and MSN (www.msn.co.uk). Also popular are the search engines provided by Internet Service Providers such as Tiscali and other sites such as the BBC site (www.bbc.co.uk).
In addition to the search engines that index the whole web, there are also medical sites with search facilities, which act almost like mini-search engines, but cover only medical topics or even a particular area of medicine. Again, it is wise to look at who is responsible for compiling the information offered to ensure that it is impartial and medically accurate. The NHS Direct site (www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) is an example of a searchable medical site.
Links to many British medical charities can be found at the Association of Medical Research Charities’ website (www.amrc.org.uk) and at Charity Choice (www.charitychoice.co.uk).

SEARCH PHRASES

Be specific when entering a search phrase. Searching for information on ‘cancer’ will return results for many different types of cancer as well as on cancer in general. You may even find sites offering astrological information. More useful results will be returned by using search phrases such as ‘lung cancer’ and ‘treatments for lung cancer’. Both Google and Yahoo! offer an advanced search option that includes the ability to search for the exact phrase; enclosing the search phrase in quotes, that is, ‘treatments for lung cancer’, will have the same effect. Limiting a search to an exact phrase reduces the number of results returned but it is best to refine a search to an exact match only if you are not getting useful results with a normal search.
Adding ‘UK’ to your search term will bring up mainly British sites, so a good phrase might be ‘lung cancer’ UK (don’t include UK within the quotes).

WARNING

Always remember the internet is international and unregulated. It holds a wealth of valuable information but individual sites may be biased, out of date or just plain wrong. Family Doctor Publications accepts no responsibility for the content of links published in this series.