If I learnt anything about myself while being chair of Royal College of General Practitioners, it’s that I am not one to shy away from giving opinions that are out with the views of “establishment.” But even for me, it’s strange to find myself arguing against many of those whom I admire in the health […]
Anita Jain: Training science communicators in India
“Acupuncture boosts libido,” blared the headline of a leading Indian daily. “Acupuncture effective treatment for breast cancer,” proclaimed another. These are in effect reporting a study which examined if acupuncture is any better than drugs in treating hot flashes in breast cancer patients on anti-estrogen therapy, and found no difference. The study participants included 50 […]
David Lock: Do CCGs have the power to pay out for past PCT NHS continuing care errors?
The NHS has paid out vast amounts—probably hundreds of millions of pounds—in recent years as a result of decisions that patients were not entitled to NHS Continuing Care (where the NHS meets the costs of a package of social care and accommodation outside a hospital). Mostly these are claims by relatives of deceased patients who […]
Richard Smith: Will digitisation transform the NHS as it has much else?
Digitisation of the NHS will both save and improve it believe Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health, and Tim Kelsey, national director for patients and information at NHS England. Both were youthful, bubbly, and even charming as they did a double act last week at the Cambridge Health Network, although Kelsey had to perform […]
Elin Jones: Recruiting an additional 1000 doctors for Wales
In recent years the problems of appropriately staffing the NHS throughout all four nations have become more widely known, whether it is the impending timebomb of GP retirement, the problems highlighted by the Francis report in relation to safe staffing, or the challenges posed by the European Working Time Directive and stricter immigration controls. In […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—10 February 2014
NEJM 6 Feb 2014 Vol 370 513 Now that I’ve moved to a policy of including online first articles in these reviews, I’m immediately confronted with a problem: I’ve already told you about most of the content of this week’s NEJM, and there isn’t much new on the website. Never mind. Here is the companion […]
Joanne Csete: Why the US needs to change its drug policy
As the world mourns the loss of the exceptional talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman, perhaps one fitting tribute to his passing from a suspected drug overdose would be to focus on how such deaths can be averted in the future. Such a focus means shedding a light on ways in which US drug policy—not uniquely, […]
Catherine Foot: Can the Care Quality Commission live up to expectations?
This week marks one year since Robert Francis published his second report into failures of care at Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust. Mid Staffs director of quality and patient experience, Julie Hendry, gave a moving presentation at a conference at the King’s Fund in November summarising the journey that the trust have been on since 2009, […]
Kate Granger: Why compassionate care is so important
Having terminal cancer is rubbish. There is no way of getting around that fact. I’ve just spent nearly a week in hospital feeling exceptionally unwell and at times wondering whether I was actually going to recover from this episode of febrile neutropenia. But I did and lived to see another day. Cancer has completely changed […]
Ahmet Ozdemir Aktan: Criminalising doctors in Turkey—an update
Professor Aktan has written an update to his previous blog about a new Turkish law which forbids medical treatment of injured protesters without state permission. The law is now signed by the President and is in action. The threat of imprisonment and a fine is real for Turkish medical staff. The Turkish Medical Association will […]