As the American Health Care Act has passed through the House of Representatives, Allan M. Joseph and William H. Seligman assess what impact this will have. […]
One small step for Republicans towards repeal of the Affordable Care Act
Michael Brady: Sex and relationships education could transform mental and sexual health—but no child should be denied access
Last week, the Queen enshrined into law the decision from Justine Greening to make Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) mandatory in all schools. The law states that, from September 2019, all English secondary schools, including state, academy, free and private schools, must teach Sex and Relationship Education, and all primary schools must teach relationships education. […]
Richard Smith: Roger Bacon on ignorance and peer review
The Franciscan philosopher Roger Bacon (c1214-1294), who some regard as the father of modern science, argued in his great text Opus Majus that there were four sources of ignorance: Frail and unsuited authority The influence of custom The opinion of the unlearned crowd The concealment of our ignorance in a display of apparent wisdom I […]
Soham D Bhaduri: Why compulsory rural service for new doctors is a terrible idea
It’s been about four months since the Indian Ministry of Health proposed to mandate the NEXT (National Exit Test) for MBBS graduates before they become licensed and practising physicians or enter postgraduate courses. Although I have already published a rejoinder to the proposal, I left out there the one major aspect of it that irks me […]
Saffron Cordery: Our NHS—it’s time to face the facts
In any general election, there are the “political football” issues. A hackneyed yet apt description of what happens to the NHS in every campaign that I can remember. I think, however, given the importance of healthcare to everyone, it’s time to ignore the pundits and face the facts on the NHS. So, whether your political […]
Chris Simms: Trump vs Obamacare—100 days in
Donald Trump continues to threaten to pull the trigger and scrap the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The day after his failed attempt to repeal and replace the ACA on 24 March, he tweeted, “Obamacare will explode . . . Do not worry.” Then, in mid-April, one way this might happen was put forward: by cutting […]
Jennifer Isherwood: A trainee’s perspective on delivering frontline care
A trainee’s day falls into one of two categories: emergency or elective work. Both follow a similar pattern: arrive, handover, see patients (ward round and review new referrals), clinic/endoscopy/theatre, handover, go home. As a rule of thumb, elective work is more predictable and controlled. Despite this, the “nags” of the working day remain the same […]
Harrison Carter: Medical students’ perspectives on delivering frontline care are unique
Medical students rotate through clinical placements in their final three years of study. The timetables at medical schools are tailored to ensure that medical students experience different hospital environments, from large tertiary and regional referral centres to district general hospitals. In addition to different hospital environments, medical students rotate around different medical, surgical, and specialty […]
Rammya Mathew and John Launer: Holistic care is fast disappearing
GPs have considerable insight into the care that their patients receive as we are commonly the ones to instigate the acute admission. We also take over the ongoing care of our patients following hospital discharge and are therefore privy to the stories that patients tell of their hospital admissions. Hospital care of patients As one […]
Martin McKee: The infamous Brexit dinner party—health was a major issue, but only for the EU
Discussions on Brexit have not got off to a good start, with health at the centre of the disagreement, even if the UK does not seem to realise it […]