• Concern over inappropriate use of psychotropic drugs in people with intellectual disability The proportion of people with intellectual disability in the UK who have been treated with psychotropic drugs far exceeds the proportion with recorded mental illness, finds this study. Of the 9135 participants treated with antipsychotic drugs by the end of the study […]
Category: The BMJ today
The BMJ Today: Searching for the seven day services plan
• A freedom of information (FOI) request from BMJ Careers has found that there was no formal correspondence between the Prime Minister and the medical director of NHS England on the definition of seven day services before Cameron announced his plan to create “a truly seven day NHS.” The BMA said it was astounding that […]
The BMJ Today: Is the UK ready for assisted dying?
• Jacky Davis and Ilora Finlay go head to head in a debate on the Assisted Dying Bill set to be read in parliament next month. They debate whether the bill’s provision requiring a High Court judge to approve patients for assisted death is enough to protect vulnerable people. […]
The BMJ Today: heroin, e-cigarettes, and alcohol
• Michael McCarthy reports on a new $13.4m White House initiative to tackle the growing heroin epidemic in the USA. Around half will go to bolstering law enforcement efforts, with the remainder spent on prevention and a new “heroin response strategy” in five of the hardest hit regions. […]
The BMJ Today: Antibiotic prescribing and smoke free legislation
• GPs should consider delaying prescription of antibiotics, says NICE Data indicate that 90% of GPs feel pressurised into prescribing antibiotics to patients unnecessarily, according to a news story by Ingrid Torjesen. Mark Baker, director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), said on 17 August that […]
The BMJ Today: Doctors’ salaries, football, and fossil fuels
• David Oliver: What should senior doctors be paid? In a column David Oliver hits out at politicians trying to “whip up outrage” at the pay of senior doctors, arguing that while substantial, they receive “the going rate for senior, experienced, salaried public servants” such as police superintendents and senior civil servants. […]
The BMJ Today: The changing roles and responsibilities of UK general practice
The past few days have seen a number of proposed changes to the regulation, roles, and responsibilities of general practice within the UK, as well as a stark reminder of the importance of ensuring GPs are trained and supported effectively. • Proposals developed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the National Association of Primary Care suggest that […]
The BMJ Today: A digital day for The BMJ
• Should all NHS premises provide free access to wi-fi? Yes, argues Victoria Betton in a head to head article published today. Betton, mHabitat programme director at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, says the advantages of free wi-fi in healthcare settings in an increasingly digitised world make sense, facilitating more patient activation and engagement. […]
The BMJ Today: Urgent help for war torn Yemen
• Médecins Sans Frontières has urged donors and humanitarian organisations worldwide to pledge more in response to the increase of violence in Yemen, Anne Gulland writes. With WHO reporting that some 190 health facilities are no longer operating and MSF performing an unprecedented number of surgical procedures, the head of MSF’s emergency unit Teresa Sancristόval has pleaded […]
The BMJ Today: Bias that keeps researchers awake at night
• Last week, we saw that prospective registration of trials with specific outcome measures could have a huge impact. Addressing this kind of publication bias is a great step forward, although other forms of bias still keep researchers and science publishers alike awake at night. • Our most recent endgames article highlights how even randomised […]