I don’t think I will ever give a presentation the same way again. A few months ago, I was invited to speak at the TEDxNHS event in London, about the infographics I make for The BMJ. Over the years, I have enjoyed watching many TED talks, and independently organised TEDx events. They are engaging glimpses […]
“Can I ask you a question?” “Of course,” I replied, refocusing my attention across the hospital bed to answer my patient’s inquisitive, middle aged son. “Are you a real Doctor? Like, can you prescribe drugs and stuff?” This question wasn’t asked because I look particularly young. I’m 29, and have for too long neglected my […]
“Patient remains medically fit for discharge. Plan: Awaiting social.” On countless times during my foundation year 1 I wrote words to that effect in patients’ notes during ward rounds. It is an all too familiar tale. An elderly person is admitted to hospital with an acute illness, which is treated, but the patient is judged […]
In an address to oysters, the Walrus in Lewis Carroll’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter” proclaims: The time has come, [the Walrus said], To talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax — Of cabbages—and kings— And why the sea is boiling hot— And whether pigs have wings. I’m not sure where the Walrus was […]
What have we done? We have over-intellectualised health. We—the youthful, affluent, busy, well educated elite—run the NHS as we would want for ourselves. We think of how we would choose to get our hernia “fixed” by the best possible surgeon at a time of convenience before going back to work. As an orthopaedic surgeon, I […]
What is the medical world to do since president Donald Trump’s executive order, issued on 27 January 2017, banning citizens of seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US for 90 days. We have seen the emotive images of people entering the US and the passionate demonstrations. We read about the toing and froing of […]
Last year the King’s Fund ran an essay competition for contributions to its series “the NHS if,” exploring hypothetical futures for the health service. Here, we publish the runner-up entry. Read the winning entry here […]
Paul Glasziou discusses why trial results need to be better presented, so that readers can understand and act on the results. […]
How can we get to zero unregistered clinical trials? Elizabeth Loder discusses. […]
William Faulkner wrote, “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practise it.” Such freedom cannot be better encapsulated than by the herculean health workers in the midst of the Syrian tragedy, risking and even sacrificing their lives to limit bloodshed. In this ambiguous conflict, woven with persecution and the complexity of […]