Late last year, retired consultant surgeon David Baxter-Smith faced General Medical Council allegations of impaired fitness to practice due to misconduct, a heavy blow for someone at the end of an acknowledged, unblemished, and highly regarded career. While misconduct in the professional sense has not been precisely defined, senior judges have used words such as […]
Category: Guest writers
Gwen Adshead: Offending in theatre—the case of Ian Paterson
What is the psychology and motivation for doctors who do wrong? Gwen Adshead discusses the Paterson case […]
Eric D Perakslis: Cyber security modeled as infection prevention and control in the healthcare delivery setting
In the wake of the recent global cyber attack, Eric Perakslis discusses some basic principles of cyber security. […]
Adhisivam Bethou: A lesson from the neonatal unit
A few years back, when we were in the old block, our neonatal intensive care unit was small but had no dearth of tiny new citizens. Some of them were brief visitors: they would check in, hurriedly gobble up some oxygen molecules, and rush back to relish the colostrum in waiting. Some weren’t that quick […]
Martin Marshall: I’m an uncertainty specialist
Are you a disease denier or a disease monger? Good GPs can only make sense by being both, argues Martin Marshall […]
Leah Desmond: Irish women and access to abortion
Recently The Citizen’s Assembly voted in favour of all women in the Republic of Ireland being able to access a legal abortion. This was monumental and an outcome that was unexpected. The Citizen’s Assembly is a public forum made up of 99 members of the public who are chosen at random, and intended to be a broad representation […]
Daniel Benamouzig: President Macron and his health policies
What impact will Emmanuel Macron’s plans for health have in France and will he be able to deliver them? […]
Clare Macdonald: Primary care can play an important part in supporting breast feeding
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that infants should be exclusively breast fed until 6 months of age, and then to 2 years and beyond alongside complementary foods. [1] Despite this advice being supported by the Department of Health, only 1% of UK babies are exclusively breast fed at 6 months, and even at just 6 weeks […]
Michael Brady: Sex and relationships education could transform mental and sexual health—but no child should be denied access
Last week, the Queen enshrined into law the decision from Justine Greening to make Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) mandatory in all schools. The law states that, from September 2019, all English secondary schools, including state, academy, free and private schools, must teach Sex and Relationship Education, and all primary schools must teach relationships education. […]
Gavin Newby: Reclaiming the lost art of lunch
When was the last time you had a proper lunch at work? I bet you are reading this munching a sandwich at your desk, or squeezing in a bit of reading in the 30 seconds you have between appointments. The reality of the modern NHS, or indeed, a busy private practice is that it’s often […]