NICK EDWARDS discusses the changes the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) has undergone in the past five years, and the new and varied users, such as NHS Direct, now seeking advice on poisons

The United Kingdom poisons information service for the medical profession started in 1961 in Leeds. The UK government recognised the need for a service to assist medical staff to diagnose and treat poisoned patients. The original report by the Standing Medical Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health (1962), envisaged a service that would create a database of substance and product information and provide this to hospitals and GPs. In response to this report, poison information centres were set up in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast in 1963. The Leeds centre continued to operate outside of the government scheme until it was incorporated and then merged with Newcastle in the 1990s.