Use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs or Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems—ENDS) is showing exponential increase in some nations. Their regular use remains marginal in Australia, where the sale of nicotine liquid is banned (personal imports are legal only if the importer needs nicotine for therapeutic purposes—including to assist with the cessation of smoking. Legal importation of […]
Category: Guest writers
Phil Koczan: Time to regain trust in care.data
Over the past few weeks we have seen a lot of media interest around NHS England’s plan to bring health information together under the banner of care.data, which will allow the linkage of de-identified patient data from different care settings in a secure environment. Care.data will have various uses which include measuring and improving the […]
Kiran Varadharajan: A junior surgical trainee’s perspective on surgical simulation
The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) has reduced the number of hours that trainee doctors have to hone their skills. As a junior surgical trainee, I find that time in theatre is of the essence when it comes to improving my operative skills. “The Time for Training Report” highlighted these challenges with suggestions on how […]
Robin E Moulder: The role of patient engagement in error prevention
Imagine being told you have a devastating illness, only to find out months later it was a mistake? Medical diagnostic errors are profoundly damaging to the patient, the clinician, and the healthcare system. Yet, as we know, human error is a reality in our clinical practice. My grandfather had a saying when it came to […]
Richard Vize: Labour’s recommendations on integrated care and social reform
Labour’s independent commission on health policy has made some welcome recommendations on integrated care and system reform, but could create conflict between the NHS and local government. The commission, led by respected GP Sir John Oldham, develops the idea of “whole person care” championed by shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, intended to bring together physical […]
Guddi Vijaya Rani Singh: Why the political origins of health inequity haven’t been tamed just yet
Last week saw the release of the much vaunted “Political origins of health inequity” report by the Lancet-University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health—an analysis of how policies and factors external to the health sector impact on health inequity, with appropriate recommendations. The question for the public health community is: does this herald […]
Jonathan M Glass: Blood taking is so much more than phlebotomy
Blood taking is so much more than phlebotomy. It’s so much more than the mere act of putting a needle in a patient’s arm. It’s so much more than filling up a syringe with the most wondrous liquid that will ever be created. It’s so much more than filling out a form and requesting an […]
Wilson Cheng: Misguided messages on safe male circumcisions
Three large randomised clinical trials that took place in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa were published in 2007, and showed that medically performed circumcision is safe and can reduce men’s risk of HIV infection by 60%. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS therefore recommend safe male circumcision (SMC) as an essential part of HIV […]
Colin Brewer: Is addiction a disease?
Last November, The Spectator held a debate on the proposition that drug addiction is not a disease. Former BMJ columnist Theodore Dalrymple was one of the proposers (I was invited to join him but couldn’t be there), and the motion was carried by a substantial majority. Apart from telling us what many ordinary people think […]
Kevin Murray: The future of high secure services over the next 50 years
In the past 50 years mental healthcare has been transformed in ways few could imagine in 1964. Fifty years ago Broadmoor Hospital had nearly 1000 patients who stayed an average of 20 years each at what is arguably the world’s most famous high secure hospital for mentally disordered offenders. Today it has some 195 patients […]