The Latin word “terror,” from the hypothetical Indo-European root TER, implying trembling, meant “the fact or quality of inspiring terror” (Oxford Latin Dictionary) and a person or thing that causes terror. Territare meant to constrain by fear, to try to scare, or, as we would now say, to terrorize. From “terror” we get such words […]
John Middleton: Why is there acute hunger in the UK and what is to be done about it?
Every day family doctors face the struggle of being custodians of entitlement to food bank help and backstops for the failures of the welfare system, while at the same time wanting to do their best for their patients, which in extreme cases means getting them something to eat. This same uncomfortable tension is played out […]
Sarah Walpole: Health through peace—mixing stories and science, and grabbing rays of hope
“We were deployed to attack civilians in their homes.” He stood in front of our 700 strong audience, bared the horrors of his experiences, and shared the pain of his realisation, all with brutal honesty. He described a standard operation carried out by British soldiers in Iraq: waking a family from their sleep with an […]
David Zigmond: Arguments about money are often about much else
When partnerships break down, money is an expected battleground. One of the most public and fiercely destructive examples is in the disintegrated marriage. Charge and countercharge escalate; then these are translated into monetary forms. Understanding this translation is crucial to any hope of understanding or containing the human agenda. For money is so often the […]
Alisha Patel and Emma Pearson: Volunteering in rural South Africa
After two years of medical school and miserable weather, we decided it was time to take our newly found skills to a warmer climate. In summer 2015, we spent three weeks volunteering in Underberg, a rural town in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Our time there consisted of school outreach for children from the […]
Richard Smith: What causes cholera? A Victorian debate
Yesterday I was in The Cholera Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh; today I’m reading about a highly emotional debate about the causes and treatment of cholera that took place in India in the 1857, during the Indian Mutiny. Both experiences have taught me something, and you might learn something as well. Cholera today Cholera is endemic […]
Jane Feinmann: Consumers co-design consumer friendly healthcare
I am one of 50 or so attendees on a one day course organised by the Point of Care Foundation learning how patients like myself can work as partners with doctors and nurses to co-design a better healthcare system. It’s not a new idea. Don Berwick, author of the NHS Patient Safety Review, pointed out […]
Patrick Cullen: Co-design for vulnerable patient groups—transforming patients’ experiences
Recently I attended a conference at the King’s Fund that focussed on transforming patient experience, particularly the experience of vulnerable patient groups. To me, the day felt as much like a call to action as a celebration of good practice. Hearing from Catherine Carter, a mother with learning disabilities and Asperger’s, about the distressing experiences of […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—16 November 2015
NEJM 12 Nov 2015 Vol 373 SPRINTing to conclusions OL There’s no denying that the research event of the week has been the online publication of the SPRINT hypertension trial. So here I am departing from the usual pattern of these reviews, because it would seem odd not to begin with it. I’m going to […]
Tom Jefferson: Happy birthday Ombudsman
The institution of the European Ombudsman celebrated its first 20 years of activity with a party for staff and all those who have and still are contributing to its work. The shindig was held in the European Parliament. In the words of the current Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, the Ombudsman’s function “was born out of the […]