Stimulated by the First International Conference on Organization and Management of Psychiatric Services in Montreal in Spring 1983, an idea arose which was translated into the first UK Workshop on Psychiatric Service Management held from 17 to 20 July 1984 in York. The theme was economics, addressed by a talented group of British health economists. The meeting was structured into a series of presentations followed by group discussion, culminating in group exercises involving informed criticism of selected research papers on economic appraisals of psychiatric services. Seminar topics included: What do we mean by efficiency in the delivery of psychiatric care? (Professor Alan Williams); What are the costs of delivering psychiatric care? (Ron Akehurst); Switching resources (Professor Alan Maynard); Measuring outcomes of health (Professor Alan Williams); Choosing options with a limited budget (Mike Drummond and Ron Akehurst). A special evening discussion was led by Tim Nodder (Deputy Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security) who gave an eloquent account of Health Service Strategy vis-à-vis mental health over a thirty-year historical perspective.