Reviewing the myriad of connections in “Under the influence,” Jonathan Gornall’s account of the subversion of public health policy by the alcohol lobby, shows just how important complex “webs of influence” are in pushing forward corporate interests. To think clearly about how the tide can be turned for public health […]
Category: Guest writers
David Nutt: Win-win for industry and public health—the UK alcohol industry could take French lessons
One of the paradoxes of current UK alcohol policy is the remarkable differences between ours and that in France. In the UK we have seen the use of, and damage from, alcohol increase very significantly over the past two decades whereas in France the opposite is true, alcohol harms have been falling, and are now […]
Faheem Ahmed: On the sideline or frontline—where should the British medical profession stand in times of armed conflict overseas?
Only days before his proposed release date, Abbas Khan was found dead in a government prison in Damascus. Arrested soon after his arrival in Syria, Dr Khan had initially planned to stay for two weeks in support of the humanitarian relief effort. Instead, he was detained for over a year and was starved, subjugated to […]
Frank Boulton: An entirely avoidable “natural” disaster
Medical professionals and the general public fear health crises such as disease epidemics and natural disasters that could quickly overwhelm hospitals and medical staff. This fear has led us to attempt to reduce these potential catastrophes through quarantine, in the case of epidemics, and early warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis. These events are entirely […]
Chris Bateman on Nelson Mandela’s campaign against HIV
For Mandela, the sudden transition to a democratic South Africa and his ensuing bids to reconcile the racially divided nation meant he simply missed the rise in HIV infection rates among his compatriots. HIV infection rates tripled during his presidency. In pregnant women, for example, it rose from 7.6% to 22.4%. The transition to democracy, […]
Tony Rao: Alcohol and hospital admissions data—look before you leap
Over the past two years, the popular press has been rife with headlines about how the sheer number of people with alcohol misuse is a “ticking time bomb” ready to explode into a major bed crisis. Last year, North West Public Health Observatory (now part of Public Health England) undertook a consultation on the methods […]
Simon Wessely: The lost trial—a Christmas story
A long long time ago, well, 1995 if you are asking, I was part of a team running a randomised controlled trial. I was, and indeed still am, working in a general hospital as a liaison psychiatrist. Back then, and still now, a considerable proportion of those admitted to the general hospital wards had problems […]
David Zigmond: We need an appointment with Dr Finlay
A recent article by Stephen Moss (“Pills, bills and bellyaches: a peek behind the scenes at a GP surgery,” Guardian.) is a vivid Hogarthian portrait of a frontline of our current NHS. As a long serving inner city GP there is much I can endorse, amplify, or dispute. One strand is of interest and illuminates […]
Billy Boland: Live at the NHS Leadership Academy
It’s taken me a while to write about my first residential for the NHS Leadership Academy Bevan Programme. So much went on there, I’ve needed a bit of time to come down from the whole thing. It was a dark day in November that found me racing through the English countryside to get to Leeds, […]
J Michael McGinnis: Building the patient and family advisory leadership network
Last month, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) partnered with Blue Shield of California Foundation and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute to bring together patient and family advisory council leaders from across the US. These organizations comprise a vibrant and growing resource for leadership and partnering on behalf of care that is patient centered, effective, […]