One night about a year into the current “reorganisation” (aka upheaval) of the health service, my GP rang at 9.50 pm to give me the results of a blood test. “What on earth are you doing still at work?” I said, grateful though I was for his dedication. At our next Patients Participation Group (PPG) […]
Category: NHS
Alex Langford: Doctors should try to be politicians
In psychiatry we’re taught to consider our patients in “biopsychosocial” terms. This is useful, but the term has become a bit of cliché. If I mention it when teaching medical students I can see the lights go out in their eyes. I wonder if this is because when we analyse the roots of our patient’s […]
Alex Scott-Samuel: Simon Stevens—cheerleader-in-chief for NHS privatisation
Simon Stevens’ Wikipedia entry describes him as “a health manager and politician.” This is appropriate not only because he was once a Labour councillor in Brixton but also because his output (since April 2014 he has been Chief Executive of NHS England) continues to demonstrate his deep ideological commitment to a commercial insurance-based market in […]
What are the political parties offering our children in 2015?
With the 7 May general election rapidly approaching, we have reviewed the manifestos of the five main political parties, standing in all UK regions, to determine what they are offering our children in 2015. All children exist in a context that shapes their health and wellbeing, and from which they cannot be separated. As advocates […]
David Kerr: Dr Uber
The hot topic in the technology world at the moment is the so called “sharing economy.” A great deal of money is being made by companies, such as Uber and Airbnb, where the internet is used to match buyers and sellers without the need for the huge upfront costs of purchasing, for example, cars and […]
Richard Vize: Facing the NHS funding reality
The intervention by former NHS England chief executive Sir David Nicholson in the election debate on the NHS exposes the chasm between manifesto rhetoric and funding reality. Nicholson pointed out that the political parties are promising extra services while the Five Year Forward View from NHS England—on which the widely accepted additional funding need of […]
Clare Gerada: Can we trust pre-election promises on the NHS?
Only a few weeks to go until the most unpredictable election in years and polls show that the NHS tops the list of voters concerns. Not surprisingly, politicians, of all persuasions are committing to promises about the service—details of extra funding and what they will offer patients in future. The Conservative manifesto, for example, pledges […]
David Payne: What would you ask a future UK health secretary?
If you were in the same room as health secretary Jeremy Hunt, Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb, and UKIP’s Louise Bours, what would you ask them? Now is your chance. […]
Samir Dawlatly: What if En Aitchess was my patient?
“Enfield Aitchess?” I called to the waiting room. A 65 year old man shuffled towards me and shook my hand. He seemed slightly out of breath. “My name is Dr Dawlatly, please come in and take a seat, Mr Aitchess,” I said as we entered my room. As he sat down he mumbled, “Most people just […]
Samir Dawlatly: How general do we want general practice to be?
As a medical student I got a parking ticket and three points on my driving license. The mistake I had made was parking in the wrong place on an unmarked road in the Peak District. When I sent in my fine I wrote a short note along the lines of, “I realise that being ignorant of […]