When I read it I was so shocked. In fact I had to go back and read it again to make sure I was actually right in what I had seen. Steve Field, the Chief Inspector of General Practice at the Care Quality Commission and a GP himself had said that GPs had “failed as […]
Category: NHS
Samir Dawlatly: Junior doctor contract crisis—conspiracy or incompetence?
I fully supported the right of junior doctors to be balloted for industrial action and to take it, if required. I was right behind them using the strongest bargaining chip that they hold in their bid to pressurise the government and NHS Employers into giving them a fairer and safer (for them and patients) deal. […]
Azeem Majeed: Moving forwards with research on the “weekend effect”
Two articles published in The BMJ in 2015 on the “weekend effect” have sparked considerable debate in The BMJ and on social media. [1,2] A number of previous studies have reported that hospital mortality is higher for patients admitted at weekends than for patients admitted on other days of the week. [3,4] This higher mortality for […]
Jonathan Glass: If surgeons lived Lewis Hamilton’s life
Many of the medical conferences I have attended recently have included sessions suggesting that the NHS is failing in its processes and that there is lots we can learn from industry. Most recently, I have been educated by the aviation industry, the energy industry, and the oil industry—as well as being shown what Formula 1 […]
Jane Feinmann: Joshua’s story and its impact on patient safety
Like most people who complain about unsafe healthcare, James Titcombe’s six year battle to hold Morecambe Bay Trust to account for the death of his nine day old son in 2008 was motivated “by the desire to prevent similar tragedies happening to others.” And like many, as he explains in his new book, Joshua’s Story, […]
Will Marsh: Compassion and contracts—a leadership critique
At this year’s London Psychiatric Trainee conference, I listened to Penelope Campling speak eloquently about the importance of compassion in the delivery of healthcare. In her book Intelligent Kindness, she argues that when we fail to promote connectedness between staff, and kinship with patients, we fail to address the “key dimension of what makes people […]
Ted Willis: Seven days to save the NHS?
For several months now we have been hearing the government argue that the NHS should provide a “seven day service.” Initially, it was maintained that this provision was required so that working people could see doctors without taking time off work. To many people it seems a no brainer. If Tesco can be open on […]
Jessamy Bagenal: Junior doctors—What are we fighting for?
So what? There has been a huge increase in the number of junior doctors who have joined the BMA since June when Jeremy Hunt began new tactics with NHS staff. Repeated inflammatory and insulting statements like “when you turn medicine into a Monday to Friday profession” have enraged doctors to an unprecedented state. The strike […]
Sarah Walpole: To strike or not to strike? What do the public think?
The government have accepted the offer to further negotiations on the junior doctors’ contract, and many doctors in training have breathed a sigh of relief that this dispute may be settled without the need for a strike. We are ready to take industrial action if that is what is required for the government to listen […]
Anna Warrington on opposing the junior doctors’ contract
In the past few months I have thrown myself into opposing the junior doctors’ contract that Jeremy Hunt has threatened to impose from August 2016. Along with a small team I arranged a 20 000 people strong protest in London, and I have contributed to a series of national news stories highlighting the truth behind the […]