At this time of year, well at any time of year really, a look at alcohol may not go amiss. Alcohol was originally what you put on your eyes, powder of antimony stibnite, antimony trisulphide, or black antimony, known to the Arabs as al-koh’l, from kohl, meaning paint or stain. Kohl was used as a […]
Lack of evidence should not be an excuse for inaction […]
Metaphor Watch kicked off (a metaphor for started) with epidemic, used ubiquitously and inappropriately for the non-communicable diseases of industrialized nations. I rounded off (a metaphor for finished) with a quote that wins a prize for tautologous exaggeration, that “the world is heading for a vascular tsunami of pandemic proportions.” From this, I want to […]
Theodore Dalrymple describes in his new book The Knife Went In the Britain he witnessed as a prison and NHS doctor, psychiatrist, and expert witness in criminal cases around Britain. In this edited extract, he details how the prison service introduced a new handle on suicides by prescribing “complex forms” to its staff. Prison administrators, […]
Although it was touch and go up to the very end, the negotiators from the European Union and the United Kingdom government have agreed that “sufficient progress” has been made in their talks on Brexit. The report is a mere 15 pages long and should be read by anyone with an interest in this issue, […]
The only way to improve patient safety is to talk openly about everything that contributes to patient harm, says Rachel Clarke […]
The Scottish Government won a resounding victory on 15 November 2017 when the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from the Scottish Whisky Association intended to block the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol (MUP). The decision, handed down by seven judges, was unanimous; MUP is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim and […]
Even if we officially change the names of “GPs” and “junior doctors,” this will not address the underlying problem […]
England is going to train an extra 1,500 doctors a year, but where shall we find them and how shall we select them? I believe that we can find them from communities that are under-represented in medicine and should select them for their values, first and foremost. Universities were able to bid for 1,000 new […]
The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, has recently called for coroners to be granted special powers to investigate stillbirths to reduce the number of baby deaths and injuries in childbirth in England. The extent of these special powers has yet to be clarified and though there is a recognised need for the coroner […]