The infant’s eyes are huge, the profile of its tiny cheek bisected by a naso-gastric tube and its ugly adhesive patch. Peering from the corner of the billboard, the image aches with vulnerability and fear, a message reinforced by the slogan—Sick Children Are Out Of Time. Arising from a recent major publicity campaign by a […]
Category: Guest writers
Justine Bharamato: Sudden cardiac death in athletes
Fabrice Muamba was discharged from hospital yesterday, after he collapsed during a football match due to a cardiac arrest on 17 March. His collapse reminds us of the sensational nature of sudden unexpected death in a young person, not least an elite athlete. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is estimated to be responsible for 60 000 […]
Vinice Thomas: The push for improvement in maternity care
Substandard care within maternity services remains a high profile issue. It seems that every month there is news coverage about failing hospitals, avoidable maternal deaths, and below optimum care provided to mothers. Last month the Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued a formal warning to a hospital outside Greater London following three visits in February 2012. […]
Vasiliy Vlassov: Tolerance
It took time to think about what happened which is why I am writing about this event a while after it occurred. The shock was hard, and I felt I needed to speak with my friends, in the hope of understanding it. If you watch what is going in Russia you know that Russia is […]
Veena S Rao: India’s 2012 budget-a paradigm shift in addressing India’s undernutrition
The Indian finance minister’s 2012 budget speech marks a significant moment for the much awaited, much required, paradigm shift in the government’s approach to reduce undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency, the indicators of which are fast qualifying India as the malnutrition capital of the world (despite 8% economic growth). It is now clear that high growth […]
Rhys Davies: In defence of medical humanities
“Oh, you do medical humanities,” they say, before making excuses to change the subject or sidle away from me. Of course, that’s if they’re being polite. My friends just make fun instead. During this year of my studies, I have intercalated in a degree in biomedical science. This culminates in an academic project. While my […]
Anya Sarang and Tim Rhodes: “The last way” clinic: why tuberculosis remains an incurable disease in Russia
Yekaterinburg city tuberculosis (TB) clinic on Kamskaya Street specialises in the treatment of TB/HIV co-infection. We first visited in November 2009, as part of an ongoing qualitative study undertaken by the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and funded […]
Mike Knapton and Tom Pierce: Doctors should take a leading role in tackling climate change
The recent Cambridge University Leadership Programme looked at sustainable development in health services worldwide. It was an opportunity to hear the evidence and arguments which were both persuasive and alarming. The link between population growth and our reliance on a carbon-based economy, leading to rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, and the consequent changes […]
Aser Garcia Rada: A good example of transparency for Spanish politicians
On 23 March the Spanish cabinet passed a new draft bill on transparency in public administration, which in other countries is called the Freedom of Information Act. So far Spain remains the only European country with more than one million inhabitants that doesn’t have this law. The healthcare sector lacks information on how healthcare budgets […]
Elizabeth Gargon: 2194 visits and 180 days—a challenge and a milestone are hit by the COMET database
Inconsistencies in health research are well documented, affecting anyone trying to use this information to make a choice about healthcare or to cope with the abundance of data generated by researchers. Differences in how outcomes are defined and measured are common make it difficult, sometimes impossible, to synthesise research results and apply them in a […]