The government’s plan to repeal the 2010 Child Poverty Act, which committed it to eradicating child poverty in the UK by 2020, and dispense with the current definition of child poverty is highly concerning. Especially when you consider this plan in the context of a recent report by the four UK children’s commissioners, which stated that […]
Category: Guest writers
Anna Mead-Robson: Welfare cuts and suicide risk
Pity the politician tasked with addressing over a thousand psychiatrists on the state of mental health services. At last week’s International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, such a fate befell the Rt Hon Alistair Burt, minister of state for community and social care. Braving his audience, Burt acknowledged the current weaknesses within our […]
Nicola Bedlington: Patient involvement in medical devices—an opportunity we may be missing
Patient involvement in health and social care is a fundamental right, and an operating principle of European healthcare systems. In the area of medicines patients are recognised as experts and are participating in many aspects of access, innovation, safety, and transparency, thanks, not least, to the commitment to patient involvement of the European Medicines Agency. […]
Marika Davies: Standing up to disrespectful doctors
Media reports that chip away at the confidence the public has in doctors occur regrettably often. A recent case in Virginia, USA, in which a patient recorded offensive comments made about him by the medical team during a colonoscopy, will make depressing reading for all those who work hard to earn and maintain the trust […]
Michael Soljak: Data access for research—Kafka writes again
Data are the lifeblood of health research, and the UK government is claiming that data collected in the course of NHS clinical care are available to reputable researchers for the purposes of improving health and healthcare. However, the reality is rather different, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain research data. Anonymised patient level […]
Martin Marshall: The travesty of the 10 minute consultation
“Perfunctory work by perfunctory men.” That’s how an eminent physician once described general practice. “A ridiculous claim” cried GPs, rising to the defence of their discipline, “specialists just don’t understand the nature of general practice. They don’t value our ability to make quick decisions based on a deep understanding of our patients and their context, […]
Barbara Harpham: CCGs are not adopting new technologies quickly enough
In December 2011, the NHS identified six ways technology could help patients and, ultimately, save money. A freedom of information request was sent to 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England in October 2014 looking for a progress update; 189 (90%) responded. How did they do? Well, it’s a mixed bag, with CCGs naturally opting […]
Richard Graham: Is it time to unplug?
As we approach the first UK National Unplugging Day, one might well ask why there is a need to have a day promoting gadget free time for families. After all, we can switch off our smartphones and tablets any day or at any time, and thus feel reassuringly conscious of and in command of our […]
Michelle Webb on the need to improve sepsis recognition and treatment
Over 100,000 people a year have an episode of sepsis at a cost of around 35,000 lives, more than bowel and breast cancer combined. Sepsis is the third highest cause of death in hospitals and one of the commonest causes of death in pregnancy. As a result of advances in medicine we are living longer. […]
Iris van der Heide: We need policies to target integrated care for people with multimorbidities in Europe
The ICARE4EU project wants to improve the care of people suffering from multiple chronic conditions. It will describe, analyze, and identify innovative integrated care programmes for people with multimorbidity in 31 European countries, and aims to contribute to more effective implementation of such programmes. During the project (from 2013 to mid 2016), members of the […]