“The very beginning” has famously been advocated as “a very good place to start,” but when it comes to sustainability, this doesn’t seem to be such an easy mantra to follow. For one thing, it’s not altogether clear where “the very beginning” is, and for a second, we in the NHS are so busy trying […]
David Payne: Playing the sepsis game
There are 1.1m cases of sepsis each year in the US, costing $17bn to treat and accounting for 17% of hospital mortality. Doctors at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California wanted to help their fellow physicians to recognise and treat it, but instead of producing a paper or video, devised a game. […]
Andrew Moscrop: Security in Pakistan
Fluttering, close enough to touch almost, or soaring and swooping high overhead, dozens of brightly coloured kites fleck the square of late afternoon sky above me. Beyond, the snow-capped mountain peaks surrounding the city are just visible above the concrete walls that surround our building. From outside the MSF compound comes the knock and cheering […]
Nell Crowden: Climate week—cleaning up the sponsorship debate
Action on climate change is good for our health, good for our wealth, and good for our environment—our life-support system. We are all complicit in the degradation on our once-reliable, stable climate. The climate science is clear. The economic arguments are clear. And the health message is clear: we can all do things that impact—for […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: The view from Bangladesh on global poverty reduction
A report released by the World Bank on 29 February highlighted that, despite the global recession, the number of people living on $1.25 per day has reduced across all regions of the world. For South Asia in general the bank reported that the poverty rate fell from 61 percent to 39 percent between 1981 and […]
Martin McShane: A nation or the profession?
I sat down with a manager who has an in depth knowledge and experience of commissioning services for people with learning disabilities, as I wanted to understand why we seemed to be doing poorly on delivering health checks. It seems so simple. Practices should offer an annual health check to people with learning disabilities. There […]
Richard Smith: Records in the NHS: an Achilles heel
I always rather enjoy being processed by the NHS. Instead of my usual panoramic (and perhaps highly misleading) view I’m down in the scrub. What struck me in my latest encounter was the extreme primitiveness of the records. The medical part of the encounter was well managed. I woke with a prominent floater in my […]
Neil Chanchlani: Where will your travel bug take you?
Medical students and doctors often talk about practising in other countries. I constantly hear the same tune echoed in lecture theatres or on the wards, “You can travel anywhere with medicine, that’s what so great about it.” Many take years out and head south east to countries such as Australia to bathe in the sun […]
Martin McShane: Little things
The reforms grind on. In the stratosphere there is a lot of noise and turbulence—people arguing passionately and polemically. Meanwhile the architecture of a new system is being constructed around those of us working in the old system. People are wondering where their future lies, or if they have a future. The basic construct is […]
Jonathan Segal: Good will—is it enough to keep the NHS alive?
It is probably evident more than ever, with the recent credit crunch and economic instability, that the NHS has less resources to play with than ever. More jobs have been cut, more training post numbers reduced, and rotas further squeezed. I began to ask myself how are these gaps being filled? I take you back […]