The British Journal of Psychiatry (2001) 179: 175
© 2001 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Editor's response
G. Wilkinson, Editor
British Journal of Psychiatry, 17 Belgrave Square, London SWIX
8PG, UK
EDITED BY MATTHEW HOTOPF
In response to concerns brought to my attention in recent months, including
those presented by Drs Owens and House, the Editorial Board now requires that
authors of editorials and items of correspondence submit a Declaration of
Interest, as authors of papers have been required to do for some time now.
Similarly, assessors participating in peer review will in future be instructed
not to assess material in which they have an interest. This change in policy
is reflected in the Instructions for Authors, published in the July issue of
the Journal, available on-line at
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/misc/ifora.shtml and available upon request from the
publishers. Declarations of Interest for papers and editorials will be
published as a matter of course. In the interests of space, Declarations of
Interest for items of correspondence will be published at the Correspondence
Editor's discretion.
I have acted as proxy Correspondence Editor in the acceptance of the above
letter and its response, in view of Dr Hotopf's interest in the matter.