I suppose I could be accused of banging on too much about doctors volunteering at the end of their career. But now I have another reason. At my age, I thought the days of national and international meetings were long gone. So, what a surprise to find myself at the Hilton on Park Lane with […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Northern Ireland general practice
Last night Clare Gerada, chair of the RCGP, spoke in Northern Ireland about the Future of General Practice. This morning she meets our new Minister of Health. She described her vision and what she would like to achieve. She was, perhaps, trying to encourage the wrong audience – those present already believe in her values. But, […]
Edward Davies: Abstain from emotive rhetoric, please
When I read yesterday that “anti-abortion group” Life had been asked to join a government advisory panel on sexual health, my heart sank a bit. Not because they have been asked to join – it strikes me that in a group of a dozen or so organisations to have one representing this view is probably […]
Guy Rughani: A waist of money?
“Cash for blubber” is how the Twitter community have dubbed the UK government’s latest bid to tackle obesity. As revealed in the Sunday Telegraph, plans have been made to pay GPs extra for giving their patients “weight management advice” and referring them to publicly financed dieting clubs. But will this nudge fatten wallets or slim […]
Birte Twisselmann: Medical history in film and literature at the Royal Society of Medicine
The day’s event on 4 May 2011 was organised by the RSM’s History of Medicine Section, whose president, Bloomsbury general practitioner Claire Elliott, made the opening address: “Does the history of medicine make us better doctors?” Elliott is also a clinical teaching fellow in primary care at UCL, and she would certainly respond in the […]
Juliet Dobson: How to pay for quality journalism in a digital world?
It is almost a year since News International decided to put Times Online and the Sunday Times websites behind a paywall. It was a watershed moment for journalism, and on Monday 9 May City University organised a talk about how to pay for quality journalism in a digital age. The debate started with Geordie Grieg, […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: The tide is turning for the private sector in developing countries
You cannot live in Dhaka, where I live and work, without seeing the necessity of the private sector for health. The private sector provides the overwhelming majority of outpatient curative care, while the public sector is used for a larger proportion of hospital deliveries and preventive care. For example, about 90% of care for children with […]
Des O’Neill: Death and transfiguration
Death, suffering, and the after life – what a way to finish a geriatric medicine congress! I had at first viewed the invitation to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert as an unexpected bonus to an extremely stimulating and hospitable Austrian and German Geriatric Medicine Congress the week before last. Yet when viewed through the lens of […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 23 May 2011
JAMA 18 May 2011 Vol 305 1969 “Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic, relapsing disease with symptoms that have negative effects on daily life.” Actually it only became a “disease” about ten years ago: before that it was classed as a nuisance, treated with antacids by many, proton pump inhibitors by some, and surgery […]
Douglas Noble on the BMJ Group Awards 2011
The 3rd BMJ Group Awards took place on 18th May. All the great and good in healthcare, national and international, assembled for 13 awards, including the prestigious lifetime achievement award. As the medical bigwigs entered the palatial Hilton Metropole Ballroom in triumphal procession, they were greeted with flashing multicoloured lights, rock music, and a definite […]