Since being diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer 12 years ago, I have been told countless times that I am lucky to have survived. I hear this pronouncement with equal regularity from my psychologist colleagues, doctors, family, friends, and the world at large. And, of course, I am. But as time has passed, it has become […]
Category: Patient perspectives
Tim Albert: What price a patient’s expertise?
For the last 18 months I have been doing some work as an Expert by Experience for the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Despite the job title—which has the ring of being dreamt up in an over-anxious committee—I found the role fascinating and rewarding. I was delighted that the chronic condition I have suffered from for […]
Amir Hannan: Please don’t forget the patient
“Please don’t forget the patient.” So said Clare Reynolds—one of the many delegates who came along to the Long Term Conditions (LTC) conference. The welcome letter claimed it will “seek to identify the greatest challenges facing those living with LTCs.” The conference started off well with the keynote speech from Jacquie White, deputy director for […]
Rosamund Snow: A year of patients’ thoughts
In January 2015 we launched What Your Patient Is Thinking (#WYPIT), a series entirely written and edited by patients and carers. Not many patients get a chance to express their views about aspects of their care—both good and bad—and the aim of our series is to let doctors find out what patients wish they could […]
Suzanne Gordon: Does the use of medical titles have an impact on patient safety?
A couple of months ago, I was invited to speak at an East Coast medical school and hospital. The group of physicians who extended the invitation—a female surgeon, and female and male internist—took me out to dinner the night before my talk. During the dinner conversation, we were all on a first name basis when […]
Graham Prestwich and Roland Valori: Management opportunity—Job title: Patient
We are seeking motivated and determined project managers with a keen interest in healthcare to join our team of health professionals to improve the health and wellbeing of our population. You will be working on a voluntary basis. There is support available, but be warned, this is variable, and sometimes sparse and difficult to find. […]
Suzanne Gordon: Medicine’s F Word—Fail
“The patient failed” this or that therapy. I first heard medicine’s F word almost 30 years ago when I was having a casual conversation with an oncologist in a break room on the hematology/oncology unit. The oncologist—an earnest man devoted to his patients—was talking about a man who was dying of cancer. “Well,” he said […]
Edward Wernick and Steve Manley: Meaningful patient collaboration—the story continues…
In our last blog we introduced our roles on the new King’s Fund Collaborative Pairs Programme. With the support of the King’s Fund we are working on a shared challenge facing our local health system. North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG have recently been awarded Vanguard status and co-production is a crucial element for the […]
Edward Wernick and Steve Manley: Meaningful patient collaboration—a mountain to climb?
In early September we arrived at the King’s Fund HQ in Cavendish Square to be welcomed to their new Collaborative Pairs Programme, designed to bring together 12 pairs from across the country—each made up of a healthcare professional and a patient or patient representative—to work on a shared challenge facing their local health system. The […]
Tessa Richards: “Millennials” seek to reshape health
What better place to debate how emerging technologies are transforming healthcare than the Silicon Valley? Bathed in sunshine, the Stanford University campus is a magnet for people with the vision and skills to create new futures, and Stanford Medicine X (#MedX) attracts health innovators from a wide range of disciplines. Now in its fifth year, […]