Guatemalan coffee is revered as a most tasty brew throughout the world. I’ve even read reports from connoisseur “cuppers,” or coffee tasters, about it being a “kaleidoscope” coffee. Apparently that’s a good thing, and certainly something the Guatemalans are proud of. […]
Emily Spry on infant mortality in Sierra Leone
A relatively newly-posted medical officer told me how she resisted returning to the children’s hospital after her three month stint here as a house officer last year. “It was so awful when the children died, and they died all the time. I went home and cried every night.” If you believe the stats (which are […]
Richard Smith: can the internet transform public services?
Slowly but surely the internet is transforming industries—finance, travel, music, entertainment—but so far it has had little impact on public services. But can it transform public services and if so how and when? These were the questions that ran through a day of “cocreation” organized by Patient Opinion, an organisation founded by GP Paul Hodgkin […]
Tracey Koehlmoos on fear and swine flu in Bangladesh
They were waiting for me when I returned to Dhaka in late July. My office is not easily found, so the small group of older gentlemen must have been determined in their efforts. Without an appointment but bearing chocolate, the request was clear: surely I had access to the H1N1 vaccine and they wanted it […]
Domhnall MacAuley on Thierry Henry’s rehabilitation
Thierry Henry’s rehabilitation is on track. He kept a low profile in Barca’s win on Tuesday night but was back in the spotlight nevertheless. Gasps of relief across the world of marketing could even be heard in football stadiums. Forget the indignation in Ireland about the hand ball incident. We are a small country with […]
Richard Smith is expelled from the Royal College of Physicians
I’ve just been thrown out of the Royal College of Physicians, which has moderately excited me—probably just as much as when I became a fellow. My sin is not paying my fees. So it’s reasonable to expel me, but was it reasonable to charge me in the first place? Let me plead my case. It’s […]
Richard Smith on health research in rural China
The differences between rural and urban China are stark. Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities are filled with new buildings, best illustrated by those built for the Olympics, whereas rural China has as many as 300 million people living on under a dollar a day, more than any other country. Indeed, China can be described […]
Joe Collier: Seeing beyond the first impression
I have long believed that first impressions, and even visual clues generally, can cause trouble. Indeed, it is my view that their (mis)use is possibly a key component in the development of prejudices such as racism and sexism. My ideas about first impressions came to me in rather odd circumstances. I was timetabled to give the last […]
Julian Sheather on moral responsibilities
I have been watching the French crime series Spiral (Engrenages) . The title refers to the way an investigation into a prostitute’s murder – she is dumped naked on a refuse heap – coils through the many layers of French society from its violent streets to its ruthless bureaux of power. At one point a […]
Tom Nolan on how to kiss during a flu pandemic
The first cases of H1N1 infection resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) spreading from person-to-person were found in Wales last week. The spread of the resistant strain occurred at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and all five people affected have “severe underlying health conditions” according to officials. Dr Roland Salmon, Director of the NPHS Communicable […]