Historically, clinicians have had a strong tradition of connecting the health of the individual in their surgery to the population’s health. Doctors were, for example, active in early campaigns for clear air and clean water. More recently, many doctors have called for a ban on smoking in public places and a reduction of salt in […]
Category: Guest writers
Michael Wilks: Climate change and health – time for a new narrative
The last “COP” (conference of the parties) meeting, in Copenhagen a year ago ended in chaos, mutual distrust, and an agreement on very little. The fact that world leaders are staying away from the next COP, which started in Cancún, Mexico a week ago, may be an advantage. Out of the glare of publicity, and without […]
Des O’Neill: So, when do you become “old”?
An occupational hazard of being a geriatrician is that not infrequently I am asked at social occasions: “So, Des, when do you become ‘old’?” The questioner is usually a fit middle-class older person, often still working in one of the liberal professions. Inherent in the question is the sense of an impending instant rebuttal should […]
Nathan Ford: Flying in the face of evidence
Despite having its critics, most clinicians agree that evidence-based medicine is, on the whole, a good thing. But evidence is just one part of what drives policy, and this is nowhere more obvious than in the field of international assistance for HIV/AIDS. […]
Harriet Vickers: The one in front of me, or all of them out there?
As the government’s white paper promises to change the role and duties of GPs, this week’s King’s Fund conference asked “do clinicians have a responsibility for the population as well as the individual patient?” From all the speakers the answer was a resounding “yes,” however each had their own perspective on how this could fit […]
Jeffrey Aronson: 6/60 Vision: Celebrating the BNF and BNFC
Thursday 18 November. To BMA House to celebrate the publication of the 60th issue of the British National Formulary (BNF) and the 6th issue of its paediatric counterpart, the BNF for Children (BNFC). The word “formulary” was first used to describe Charles Thomas Haden’s translation of François Magendie’s Formulaire pour la préparation et l’emploi de […]
Liz Thiebe: Lessons from Seattle: dealing with the challenge ahead
Every year I lead a group of health care leaders on a study trip of medical and other organisations in Seattle, an American city with a rich and diverse health care economy. This year the trip threw up some interesting comparisons between our two nations’ health systems, and helped to shed light on the current situation […]
Desmond O’Neill: An appalling (Irish) vista
It is sad that the memory of Lord Denning, the eminent jurist, will always be associated with the unhappy phrase “appalling vista,” pronounced during the appeal hearing of the Birmingham Six. By this he meant that prolonged, pervasive, and systematic wrongdoing by agencies of the state was inconceivable: unfortunately, subsequent scrutiny was to prove him […]
Jonathan Segal: Are we creating a generation of uninspired doctors?
So the time has come for junior doctors to plunge themselves into a specialist career. Should this be time for excitement? Time to step up to commitment? Or time to reflect on my plan E or F, as what follows may highlight that having a plan B in this game may not be enough. […]
Edward Davies: Who’d be an NHS manager?
I’ve just come back from the NHS Employers annual conference in Liverpool. As one of the biggest gatherings of HR managers in the country it’s very easy to mock, so that’s exactly what I intend to do. […]