One response to a deep financial cut is to change radically, to do things in a wholly different way. An alternative response is to shrink back to old ways on a smaller scale. I’ve been wondering for a while what will happen with the NHS, hoping for radical change but fearing unchallenging retrenchment. […]
Just as some people proudly announce that they are alcoholics, I’m proud to tell the world that I am a Cochrane reviewer. There cannot be many BMJ readers who don’t know what that means, but just in case it’s a calling, something akin to joining a monastery. In support of my work, I have studied […]
Five days in hospital for the delivery of our first child was a sobering reminder of the harsh realities of life (our newborn had a post-natal stay on ITU), the inner workings of the NHS system, and on several occasions a personal reminder of just how far we still have to go to realise high […]
As is my wont, I was skimming the BMA news and hovered over the “See one, do one” column about working and surviving as a junior doctor. It was a well written and entertaining piece about getting behind the real reason for a patient’s presentation. A youngish, male patient presented with nasal symptoms but, in […]
Have you ever heard of the “medcomms community”? I suspect not, but they are shaping your world. It might be worth spending two minutes reading this blog to learn more about this shadowy crew. […]
I recently happened upon a fascinating article by Ben Goldacre – he of Bad science fame – on the ticklish question of the provision of pornography at IVF clinics to enable men, how shall we put it, to provide a suitably lively sample on the day. It seems that that most upstanding of organs The […]
If we carry on as now we will need 2.3 planets to support the 9 billion people who will be alive in 2050, says the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This is a relatively uncontroversial statement, and it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that we don’t have 2.3 planets. We have only one. So […]
This afternoon an expatriate internal medicine doctor started an ultrasound workshop with the doctors. I thought it would be useful for me to go, so I did. The ultrasound room is adjacent to the emergency room so while we were waiting for doctors to arrive the internist and I were reviewing a few patients. […]
Around the world research groups are sequencing the genome of tens of thousands of people, and a crucial question is what to do about feeding back to individuals findings that may be “clinically significant.” My immediate reaction was “Of course you should feed the findings back,” but after chairing a session on this topic at […]
“If you take it to its logical conclusion, the Secretary of State will have to define exactly what primary care does – forever,” said the GP on the other end of the line. We were, of course, talking about the white paper. This GP has been at the forefront of redesigning services, leading colleagues into […]