The first World Health Organization ministerial conference on global action against dementia which took place in Geneva was organized to encourage governments worldwide to take action to prevent dementia and improve health and social care services, based on current scientific knowledge, evidence, and global experience. It was attended by some 400 invited delegates, representing 80 countries […]
Category: Guest writers
Clare Wenham and John Edmunds: How effective is this year’s flu vaccine?
This flu season, Influenza A (H3N2) has been the dominant circulating strain, with transmission occurring unusually early (November and December). By December 2014, influenza rates were higher than they had been in the previous three years. However, recent research by Public Health England (PHE) suggested that there was a mismatch between the H3N2 strain selected […]
James McCormack and Mike Allan: Simply making evidence simple
This blog is part of a series of blogs linked with BMJ Clinical Evidence, a database of systematic overviews of the best available evidence on the effectiveness of commonly used interventions. In an ideal world in which shared decision making is practised with impunity, healthcare providers need—at their fingertips—an appreciation and understanding of (as well […]
Andrew McIntosh: How can we improve cricket helmet standards?
There has been renewed interest in cricket helmets for a few reasons: the Cricket World Cup, the death of Phillip Hughes, and a relatively new British Standard for cricket helmets. This interest comes after a relatively long pause in helmet development. I began watching cricket before helmets and remember the controversy around their introduction in […]
Pallavi Bradshaw: Innovation doesn’t need a new law
At the end of last week, common sense prevailed. The decision was made that the Medical Innovation Bill would not get a second reading in the House of Commons, and therefore, would not progress any further in this parliament. Rather, there appears to be growing recognition of the need to take a step back and […]
Neel Sharma: Those who can teach, those who can’t don’t
Recently I was left dumbfounded by a senior colleague who stated that the sign of a good medical educator is one who can do two things well: publish and deliver conference presentations. I questioned him on the aspect of teaching. Surely this is relevant in the field of medical education— a field designed to enhance […]
Julia Pakpoor: Three artists with multiple sclerosis respond to “Good Out Of Bad”
I spent a recent evening at an art exhibition in the trendy Shoreditch area of East London, where three young artists were presenting their work. All three artists have the chronic disease multiple sclerosis (MS). They had been given a brief of “Good out of bad,” and been asked to respond. […]
Karen Horridge: Disability matters
Our global community has made great strides with issues of race and gender, but has a way to go before disabled people of all ages are warmly welcomed, respected, and fully included as equals in all aspects of our societies, including as equal recipients of high quality healthcare. Do we all, as doctors, nurses, and […]
Kallur Suresh: Prevention and self-management—two pillars for a paradigm shift in thinking about our health
We all know that the health service is struggling. GPs are seeing escalating workloads, waiting times are getting longer, emergency care is on its knees with ambulances queueing in front of Accident and Emergency departments, discharges from hospital are delayed leading to longer stays, and community services are unable to cope with the demands placed […]
Kim Wolff: New drug driving legislation in the UK
On Monday 2 March, the new drug driving legislation came into force in the UK taking on board many of the recommendations from the expert panel report commissioned by the Department for Transport published in March 2013 [1]. The new legislation specifies 16 controlled drugs and, in each case, the limit in blood for the […]