To most doctors psoriasis is a disease to be fought, contained, and even cured, but is this far too narrow a view? John Updike, one of the greatest writers in English of the past century, had psoriasis for almost all his life, and he writes in Self-Consciousness: “Psoriasis is my health. Its suppression constitutes a […]
The Ashya King case has gone global, and in the UK is assuming Mid Staffordshire proportions. The law, as interpreted, would appear to have totally overlooked the best interests of a gravely ill child: to have parents who love and care for you at your side. Amid the media hullabaloo, unfolding events, heated debate, and […]
As the summer holidays draw to a close, thousands of people up and down the country will have found out whether the hours and months spent meticulously researching the best places to visit and to stay ultimately came to fruition. There are lots of decisions to make in life. Holidays are a perfect example of […]
I don’t really get the horror genre. Even as a young boy, the flaky plots and a world working to different rules than the one I was becoming more familiar with every day all seemed laughably improbable. Science takes us incrementally and logically from one discovery to another, building on the shoulders of giants. In […]
Every day around the world, thousands of operations are undertaken. In the days and weeks leading up to these procedures, surgeons and their patients discuss the goals of surgery, expected outcomes, and concerns about potential unfavourable events. These often thoughtful, and sometimes difficult, discussions culminate in the signing of a legal document: the informed consent. […]
Legend has it that the Anglo-Saxon king Canute believed his command could hold back the tide. Last week, Financial Times columnist Robert Shrimsley conjured up Canute’s image, as he describes how he went to his GP for a problem and the latter pleaded with him not to go to the internet for information. Of course, the […]
I acquired a new label recently. I was named by the Health Service Journal as one of 50 “inspirational women” in healthcare. Quite something for someone who is not in the hierarchy: a “patient” no less. My work as a patient leader has made me aware of boxes, how we hide in them, and consign others […]
What links a social prescription in Newcastle, a peer retreat in Lambeth, and a neighbourhood network in Leeds? Well, these were three of the six frontline teams in the People Powered Health programme, which finished last year after running for 18 months. The programme—supported by the charity Nesta, along with the Innovation Unit—supported these six health […]
If you rely on a prosthetic limb for your everyday mobility then you will need to visit a limb fitting centre throughout your whole life. In 1968, I lost my lower left leg when I was run over by a number 11 bus in Trafalgar Square, and I can remember every detail, every prosthetist, and […]
Often health events, conferences, and meetings say that they include patients and they do. Well, sort of. They have patients there except they are not really there. The Doctors 2.0 & You conference is different: it really is a patient included conference. What strikes you from the moment it starts is that patients are an integral part […]