The vote by the British parliament on 3 December for air strikes on Syria has consequences for the already catastrophic humanitarian and medical situation in Syria and surrounding countries. The four and a half year conflict has already led to considerable destruction of health infrastructure, hospitals, and clinics, and has resulted in the death of […]
Category: Guest writers
Chapal Mehra: Is the world prepared to defeat tuberculosis?
On the eve of the World Lung Conference in Cape Town, many of us crowded into the auditorium at the convention centre to listen to Grania Brigden, MSF Access Campaign TB advisor, from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as she presented highlights from the key findings of Out of Step—a report of a 24 country survey of […]
Clifford Mann: The co-location of GPs in A&E
As the year draws to a close, scrutiny of A&E performance will once again become a regular topic of media interest. This attention is as dichotomous as the four hour standard that arbitrates good and poor performance, yet overall both are welcome. A downgrading of the standard would lead to a rapid decline in patient […]
Jane Feinmann: Joshua’s story and its impact on patient safety
Like most people who complain about unsafe healthcare, James Titcombe’s six year battle to hold Morecambe Bay Trust to account for the death of his nine day old son in 2008 was motivated “by the desire to prevent similar tragedies happening to others.” And like many, as he explains in his new book, Joshua’s Story, […]
Katherine Sleeman: The best place in the world to die? Let’s make it better
The UK is officially the best place in the world to die. So said a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit in October, which revealed that based on the 2015 Quality of Death Index, a measure of the quality of palliative care in 80 countries around the world, the UK comes top. This is […]
Anita Charlesworth: The impact on health of the comprehensive spending review
On the 25 November the Chancellor of the Exchequer will stand up in Parliament and make a statement that will shape much of the political landscape for the rest of this decade. More substantively these spending review decisions will impact every household in the UK. Given its importance it’s not surprising that, by all accounts, […]
Jane Feinmann: Consumers co-design consumer friendly healthcare
I am one of 50 or so attendees on a one day course organised by the Point of Care Foundation learning how patients like myself can work as partners with doctors and nurses to co-design a better healthcare system. It’s not a new idea. Don Berwick, author of the NHS Patient Safety Review, pointed out […]
John King: Just tick the boxes
The atmosphere at the mothers meeting was warm and friendly. All the local mums were looking forward to sharing the latest news and gossip about their children, as they had done for years now. Suddenly the door was flung open and a man in a smart grey suit appeared, with bulging briefcase and an authoritative […]
Samir Dawlatly: Do I need to be more mindful?
In my relatively short career as a GP there has been a surge of interest in talking therapies for mental health problems. It seems that the “one-size-fits-all” population-based research being shoe-horned and imposed onto every patient in the consultation approach is what is needed and required by our paymasters. The current trend of therapy that […]
Amy Godden: Women in surgery
In the 13 years since embarking on my medical training I have witnessed unbelievable progress in many different aspects of medicine as a whole, not least, within gender equality. I am a female general surgical registrar in North West London. I am married to a recently retired professional rugby player. I have no children…yet. I […]