Recently, at a joint ABPI/BMJ conference, the Ethical Standards in Health and Life Sciences Group (ESHLSG) published the latest in a series of collaborative documents: Clinical Trials Transparency-Principles and Facts. The conference was excellent, and there were many difficult questions asked around the transparency issue—and rightfully so, as it is difficult to understand why medical […]
Category: Guest writers
Magdalena Kincaid: surgical teaching on the Mount of Olives – part 1
The car journey from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem lasts about an hour. There is an enveloping warmth in the air even at 2 am and it is eerily quiet. The UN car is veering into East Jerusalem, up the Mount of Olives, and finally to our destination: Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH). Next week this hospital […]
Henry Murphy: Epidemic – a sick musical of immense proportions
Effort ***** Value for money ***** Entertainment **** Public health education ** Price: Free One of the perks of being the Clegg Scholar is that you get forwarded details of events that clash with the busy schedules of other BMJ staff. After three members of the editorial team turned down the opportunity to review a […]
Sarah Woolnough: Good news for research in the UK
The regulation and governance of clinical research continues to be a key discussion for the clinical research community. Last year, following increasing pressure the government and regulators began to look at ways to reform the system to support and increase the amount of research taking place in the UK. The good news is that we’re […]
David Zigmond: Further NHS reforms – inevitable and unintended consequences
As the debate becomes more fraught, I want to add my voice to the fray. I have been a frontline medical practitioner for more than 40 years, and have seen recurrent waves of reform and their very mixed results. The least disputable advances are in the realms of technology and technical competence: drugs and procedures […]
Grant Hill-Cawthorne: House of Lords to be a mini House of Commons – would the Health and Social Care Bill have passed unamended?
Reform of the the House of Lords has been rumbling along for many years. Started by Tony Blair’s Labour Government, it was in the manifesto of all three main parties during the last general election, and it formed a lynchpin of the coalition arrangement between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. Nick Clegg is personally […]
Jeremy Sare: Drug consumption offence
The debate between prohibitionists and drug reformers is often one between morality and pragmatism. Comments made last week by Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, about drug testing employees to deter use, put him firmly in the moral camp. He argued that employers have the right to impose conditions on employees’ lifestyles. Hogan-Howe was […]
Scarlett McNally on caring for a world population of 7 billion
A new hard-hitting film “Mother: caring for 7 billion” should be required viewing for all doctors, policy-makers, and other people. Its message is that the exponentially increasing world population is the major cause of poverty, over-consumption, food poverty, riots, wars, de-forestation, ill-health, major crises, conflict, and climate change. It has vignettes from biologists, medics, and […]
Jane Carthey: Responding to patient safety incidents – lessons from a South African hotel chain
Could the CEO of a South African hotel chain help the NHS improve how we respond when things go wrong? At last week’s Risky Business 2012 conference, Arthur Gillis, CEO of the largest chain of hotels in South Africa, gave a presentation about embedding an excellent customer service approach among employees working in his hotels. […]
Henry Murphy on being a BMJ Clegg Scholar
There are moments in life where you feel like you’ve made it. Sipping mint tea from a CNN mug whilst helping to decide on this issue’s cover image, I feel like I’ve made it. It may not seem much, but I’ve been interested in journalism since day one at medical school, and have been granted […]