Autopsy services for old age psychiatrists in england and wales: Can neuropathologists help?

We have previously shown that many old age psychiatrists are dissatisfied with their local autopsy services. Their most common complaint was the poor quality of central nervous system examinations carried out by general histopathologists, and so we sought to determine whether neuropathologists could carry out more autopsies on old age psychiatry patients. A postal questionnaire was used, and responses indicate that neuropathologists carry out an average of 8.8 autopsies on old age psychiatry patients each year, out of a mean total of 42.2 neuropathological autopsies, and examine an average of 28.3 other brains from old age psychiatry patients, out of a mean total of 109.3 cases. In general, respondents found autopsies on psychiatric and neurological patients much more interesting than autopsies on neurosurgical and forensic cases, but did not rate psychiatric autopsies as more important than any other kind of case. Most neuropathologists would wish to examine more brains from old age psychiatry patients, but would require more pathologists, more technicians or more resources before doing so. Old age psychiatrists who wish to obtain a better autopsy service may need to take the initiative.