Revalidation fatigue…there is so much in the news, post, and medical media that I had begun to switch off. But, Niall Dickson, from the GMC, gave us a very reassuring talk on revalidation recently and it all sounded very reasonable, sensible, and non threatening. Revalidation based on appraisal seems fair and we are well used […]
Category: Editors at large
Edward Davies: Call for the spin doctor—this pension strike will need the mother of all PR campaigns
This strike is not going down well. Or to quote the Daily Telegraph, this “unseemly spectacle” is not going down well. And it’s not just the Telegraph. “There is no gold left and the doctors need to recognise that this applies to them,” says The Times. “Doctors should be ashamed of themselves,” says the Independent. […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Unexpected afterthoughts on the BMJ Group Improving Health Awards
Humbled, unsettled, introspective. Mixed and strange emotions. Not the response you might have expected on such a wonderful evening. But, lets enjoy the evening first before the amateur psychology….. The BMJ Improving Health Awards—a celebration of achievement. Lashings of goodwill and enthusiasm. Tension, excitement, and showbiz. Great people, a great event, and a little sprinkling […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Exporting UK style quality and outcomes to Switzerland
Clocks, watches, mountains, and trains. Clean Swiss efficiency. So, I was fascinated to learn about Swiss primary care when speaking at a recent conference in Lausanne; mostly single handed, still predominantly male, and with limited use of electronic records. Joining me from the UK was Stephen Campbell from Manchester, one of the architects of the […]
Elizabeth Loder on tackling unnecessary treatment in the US: This time “it feels different”
US healthcare costs are unsustainable and a large amount of money is being wasted on unnecessary treatment. There was general agreement about these statements among the audience, speakers and panelists at the recent Avoiding Avoidable Care conference, held in Boston. The summit was organized by the Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, the New America Foundation, and […]
Domhnall Macauley: A tongue in cheek letter to consultant colleagues
Dear consultant colleague, The standard of consultant letters is very variable so we have decided to introduce a new proforma for consultant letters to GPs. Patients attend many different outpatient departments and we intend to introduce a different proforma for every department in each of the hospitals to whom we refer. […]
Annabel Ferriman: Ann McPherson: the Peoples’ Practitioner?
What was Ann McPherson’s secret? How did she manage to accomplish so much, but still remain a warm hearted person, who remembered birthdays, gave porridge to Jon Snow when he turned up for breakfast time meetings, and offered the keys of her house to friends needing somewhere to stay? […]
Deborah Cohen 9 May 17h30: Where’s the data, DePuy?
Back in February, the BMJ reported that a whole class of implant—in this case large diameter metal-on-metal total hip replacement—was allowed to enter the global market without any clinical studies to assess their safety and effectiveness. Hundreds of thousands of patients around the world may have been exposed to toxic metal ions released from the […]
Domhnall MacAuley: The glamour of drink
Early morning and a young lad, hooded, trainers, hugs his bottle as he staggers home. Last night it started early; cider, beer, and tonic wine. Blue bags on a Friday night. Party time in the park as teenage boys and girls huddle drunken in the dusk. Monday morning, at the surgery. Mother fraught and adolescent […]
David Payne: Lord Ashley of Stoke
The BMJ tends not to commission obituaries of non-doctors. I can understand why. The journal’s print obituary section is already awash with the lives of distinguished doctors from the UK and overseas. It would need to be a lot larger if coverage was extended to eminent nurses, former health ministers, academics, and campaigners, But if its […]