Today’s report by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman demonstrates that end of life care could be improved for up to 355 000 people a year; highlighting tragic cases where people’s suffering could have been avoided or lessened with the right care and treatment. Issues identified in the report as the most common within end […]
David Oliver: Do bring me problems
In her book Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World, Barbara Ehrenreich brilliantly deconstructed this cult. Her starting point was her own diagnosis of breast cancer and the bullying attitude that if you don’t “fight” the cancer and stay “positive” in the face of distress and worry, then your demise is […]
Daniel Barrett: Will a seven day NHS push primary care recruitment from crisis to catastrophe?
I listened with personal interest as the new conservative government re-launched its grand plan to deliver a “seven day health service.” In a little over a year I will be beginning life as a junior doctor along with thousands of others, all starting to question where our careers are heading. The answer for many of […]
The BMJ Today: Patients let down by end of life care, seven day working, and a letter from Australia
• A new report has found that terminally ill people are enduring painful and distressing deaths through failure by the NHS in England to properly manage care at the end of life. The concerning findings from the parliamentary and health service ombudsman are summarised here by The BMJ’s correspondent Clare Dyer. […]
David Payne at Health 2:0 Europe 2015
Is the Uber minicab model fit for healthcare? Why are doctors terrible digital adopters? And can the medical workforce benefit from using applications which promise virtual doctors on demand? These questions and others were debated at day 1 of technology conference Health 2:0, an annual event which profiles “international innovation in patient-provider communication, consumer health, […]
Pallavi Bradshaw: Should employers have access to employees medical records?
Flying has become an integral part of modern life, whether for pleasure or business. I have never been a nervous flyer although I would be lying if I said that I don’t get a little nervous, like most, when there is unexpected turbulence. For that split second, you worry about engine failure or a terrorist […]
Tamzin Furtado: What Global Health Trials has taught us about research capacity building
Recently the research community, Global Health Trials, celebrated its fifth anniversary. In five years, Global Health Trials has evolved dramatically as the needs of its audience emerged, and today we reflect on what this process has taught us about the concept of research capacity building in low and middle income countries (LMICs). […]
Samir Dawlatly: A sideways look at the seven day working idea for GPs
Letter to the education secretary: Dear Nicky Morgan Congratulations on being appointed education secretary. Following on from your predecessor will either turn out to be really easy, as you can’t be as bad as all my teacher friends tell me he was, or will be very difficult if he has left everything in a bit […]
The BMJ Today: Migrants’ health, screening guidelines, and benefits of social media
• Migrants are finding it increasingly difficult to access healthcare, the charity Doctors of the World has warned. The charity, which provides healthcare to vulnerable groups, found that around two thirds of the people at its clinics had no healthcare coverage. Migrants cited inability to pay, administrative problems, and lack of knowledge as hampering their […]
William Cayley: Less is more
Both seasoned clinicians and learners in today’s medical environment receive both explicit and unspoken messages that the best medicine involves advanced technology, the latest medications, and highly specialized care. Evidence based medicine, on the other hand, advocates the “conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual […]