When the most senior copper responsible for drugs openly questions the sense of criminalising young people for drugs possession then perhaps the game is finally up for the strict advocates of prohibition. Chief Constable Tim Hollis has been the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on drugs since 2006, so he is no naïve […]
Martin McShane: The fossilisation of general practice
“If you take it to its logical conclusion, the Secretary of State will have to define exactly what primary care does – forever,” said the GP on the other end of the line. We were, of course, talking about the white paper. This GP has been at the forefront of redesigning services, leading colleagues into […]
Research highlights – 17 and 24 September 2010
“Research highlights” is a weekly round-up of research papers appearing in the print BMJ. We start off with this week’s research questions, before providing more detail on some individual research papers and accompanying articles. Are objective measures of physical capability associated with all cause mortality? What has happened to deaths from methadone overdose since its […]
Domhnall Macauley: What is the BMJ?
What is the BMJ? When I ask people at outreach lectures and seminars, I get various answers ranging from the traditionalists who see still the BMJ as just another paper journal in their Friday morning letterbox, to others for whom it is multimedia medical communications opportunity. For one clinician lecturer, we are a podcast that […]
Sandra Lako: Intraosseous access saves lives
One afternoon I passed through the emergency room and noticed two doctors hovering over a patient attempting to get intravenous access. As in many of the emergency cases, the patient’s circulation was poor. While one doctor was attempting jugular access, I suggested inserting an intraosseous needle. […]
Michael Powell: I had not expected to enjoy Ann Widdecombe
I had not expected to enjoy Ann Widdecombe’s BBC documentary on Cardinal John Henry Newman, (Saint or Sinner), broadcast on 18 September, especially as my interview was edited down to about one minute; however, I found it interesting, balanced and surprisingly moving. Whatever the pros and cons of beatification, if ever a man deserved this, […]
Richard Smith: Computers take histories better than doctors – why don’t they do it more?
Here’s a simulated doctor patient consultation that took place today at the Royal Society of Medicine. A 65 year old woman (cunningly disguised as a bald, male professor from the Mayo Clinic) who is known to be hypertensive and on treatment says that her blood pressure has gone up over the last 10 days. An […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: E-cigarettes still on sale at the shopping mall
During July 2009 during a brief visit to the US my three sons and I noticed that electronic cigarettes were being sold at kiosks in the mall. It seemed so un-American somehow to have cigarettes being advertised so openly and in such a public venue. Some quick research showed that these devices are actually very […]
Siddhartha Yadav: TedxChange’s millennium development goals webcast
Sitting in the comfort of my room and sipping a cup of tea, I listened to Melinda Gates and others this morning – live. The TedxChange was an event organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and TEDx to mark the tenth anniversary of inception of the millennium development goals. Focused on the theme […]
Edward Davies: Money, money, money
It’s a well known fact that all doctors leave work at 4:30 in a gold Bentley, dispersing £50 notes to the massed peasants. They unwind in the evening by sipping a glass of 1961 Dom Perignon in their bath of ass’ milk in the East Wing of their gated mansion, whilst watching private performances by […]