Have you ever considered the accuracy and reliability of hospital death certification? Prior to my recent research project, I certainly hadn’t. Accurate certification is not only important for legalities sake, or for families in understanding the cause of death of their relative, but it is pivotal in determining public health initiatives and health service provision […]
Category: Guest writers
Jeremy Sare: Khat’s out the bag
To be a home secretary is to become the embodiment of political contradiction. Last Tuesday, Theresa May announced to parliament a scaling back of “stop and search powers” given their highly disproportionate deployment against black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. “The official statistics show that if you’re from a black or minority ethnic background, you’re […]
Ashley Graham Kennedy: Do medical titles harm the physician patient relationship?
It was 4 am in the emergency department (ER). An 83 year old woman had come into the ER after experiencing an episode of disorientation and shortness of breath earlier in the evening. The resident physician and I entered her room and he introduced himself to the patient. “Hello Ms Stanley, I’m Dr James.* I […]
Samir Dawlatly: Times have changed for me
Four years ago I wrote about my diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and how despite this I had gone on to be successful at medical school, in the hope that it would provide hope to health professionals with mental health problems. Despite a diagnosis of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder at the age of 20, I had finished […]
Sean Roche: Influencing public perceptions of the NHS—the politics of fear and the manufacture of consent
Attending to the health secretary’s recent pronouncements and politicking around the state of the NHS, I find myself reflecting on rather striking parallels with the propagandising that preceded the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Most obvious is the utilization of fear and anxiety to influence public opinion and create the requisite conditions for state actions that […]
Jaana Ahlblad and Päivi Hietanen: Finnish baby boxes—could this joy be reproduced?
How can a cardboard box be a symbol of equality and express the importance of children? Easily, if it’s filled with soft cotton clothes for newborns and contains a towel, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, nail clippers, and bath thermometer for the baby, as well as outdoor gear and a sleeping bag, a […]
Paul Laffin: Is men’s health the forgotten inequality?
The discussion of health inequalities can sometimes appear ubiquitous at local, national, or European level. We all know the massive impact that socio-economic factors can have on a person’s health and that someone’s ethnicity can also play a significant role in determining health outcomes. But, by focusing on such contributory factors, are we ignoring the […]
Joe McManners: Primary care development needs to be led by clinical commissioning groups
This season’s hot topic is urgent care, particularly in relation to primary and community based care. Before we get carried away with patchwork top down answers, we need to make sure that changes come from genuine “clinical leadership.” Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are best placed to make this happen. To achieve the transformative change that […]
Sean Roche: Wake up and smell the coffee (or the essential non-being of the Francis report)
I couldn’t be more serious in beginning to reflect on the Francis report with a joke. The joke is employed by Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek in his illustration of ideology, quoting from the director Ernst Lubitsch’s film Ninotchka. In this film, the hero visits a cafeteria and orders coffee without cream; the waiter replies: “I’m sorry, […]
Fran Baum on the final day of the WHO global health meeting
Fran Baum is blogging from the 8th World Health Organization Global Health meeting. Read her other blogs here. The morning session of the final day of the WHO 8th global health meeting (8GCHP) had many contributions looking to the future. Heidi Hautala, minister for internal development, Finland, spoke of the importance of woman in development, […]