This was the analogy put to delegates by Hungarian Minister of State for Health, Miklos Szocska, during the first session of the European Health Forum panel on “Investing for health. From health to wealth.” But can all European countries make sure they stay in the saddle? DG SANCO director general Paola Testori Coggi focused her […]
Category: Guest writers
Roberto Debono: “We must not speak about crisis, we must speak about a new reality”
The title is a quote from a discussion between Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, the Minister of Health, Lithuania, and Spyridon-Adonis Georgiades, the Minister of Health, Greece, and it set the tone at the opening plenary of the 16th European Health Forum, which kicked off on Wednesday 2 October at 12.30 sharp in Bad Hofgastein, Austria. Dr […]
Simon Williams: What the ASDA and Tesco “mental patient” costume tell us about misassumptions of mental health
Recently, the British supermarket chain ASDA hit the headlines for selling a controversial “mental patient” Halloween costume. Although the costume was quickly withdrawn following complaints by notable mental health charities, criticism has continued to pour in as many asked how the company could have stocked the product in the first place. Although the product itself […]
Gerry Stimson: A life or death moment for tobacco policy
European Union politics occasionally produces a humiliating own goal, but few are likely to be as deadly and unethical as a proposed new approach to tobacco policy. On 8 October, the European parliament will consider a new Tobacco Products Directive. If the preferred approach of the lead scrutiny committee (Environment, public health, and food safety […]
Anna Smajdor: Should we incentivise compassion in the NHS?
In response to the details of catastrophic failures in Mid Staffordshire NHS trust, David Cameron recently suggested that nurses’ pay should be dependent on their compassion. The idea that we should reinforce compassion in healthcare is seldom questioned, even if the means by which we attempt this is sometimes disputed. However, I suggest that the […]
Saleyha Ahsan: No child is safe in Syria today
Away from my comfort zone working as an emergency medicine doctor in London, I have been working in a hospital in northern Syria with the charity Hand in Hand for Syria, and being followed by a BBC Panorama team. Recently on a rare quiet afternoon I was sitting on the hospital balcony overlooking the olive […]
Kavin Andi: Pioneering the use of 3-D computer imagery to rebuild patients’ faces
Some of us are driven by personal conviction about our career choice while others succumb to the subtle and not to subtle influence of peer pressure or well meaning parents. I have a childhood encounter with a lamp post to thank for setting me on the road to becoming a surgeon, when I lost a […]
Sheila Hollins: BMA Medical Book Awards
This year’s BMA Medical Book Awards were a great success, portraying the high standard and wide-range of medical literature available and recognising the talent of the individual winners. 641 excellent entries fought for the title Medical Book of the Year, leaving the judges with an incredibly difficult decision, but after careful consideration it was clear that […]
Simon Chapman: Publishing horror stories: Time to euthanase paper based journals?
Every researcher has exasperating stories of the glacial pace of research publication. But as a former research journal editor of 17 years, I know that researchers’ ideas on what constitutes “glacial” varies enormously. I’ve received “hurry up” letters from authors a week or so after submission, and have often played a game with other editors […]
Nell Crowden: More bravery needed among academics
The Clean Med Europe 2013 conference, , organised by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and Healthcare Without Harm, was much what I expected: buzzy conversation with brilliant contacts, inspiring speakers on both familiar themes and then some pretty snazzy innovation too—plus beautiful Oxford settings to top it all. One conversation (names will not be revealed) […]