NEJM 26 Jan 2017 Vol 376 Bezlotoxumab Bezlotoxumab is an antibody that offers passive protection against Clostridium difficile toxin. This trial shows that if you give it with anti-clostridial antibiotics, it somewhat lowers the rate of recurrence. It is already on sale in the US, though in that strange country, drug prices are commercial secrets. […]
Donald Trump may or may not have a mental illness. As a doctor, it would be unprofessional of me to comment on that question. Or would it? Like many liberal-minded people, I find Trump’s opinions and actions abhorrent. I have joined in social media condemnation of his policies and questioned his personal integrity. I have […]
The next significant step for NHS strategy and planning will be the Five Year Forward View delivery plan which NHS England say they will publish in March “setting out a shared route map for the next few years”. What is needed from this plan? First, the plan needs to remind us all what the NHS […]
Our team arrives on mass to the camp, greeted by cold steel fences criss-crossing up two metres high and crowned by coils of sharp barbs. This is juxtaposed by colourful paintings on concrete walls. The next assault to our senses is “hallo,” “hallo,” “my friend,” “how are you,” and hugs and kisses from 10 or […]
We’ve had magic bullets (q.v.) and holy grails (q.v.). Last autumn, another unobtainable appeared on The BMJ’s news pages: “Is Hunt’s plan to expand medical student numbers more than a party conference pipe dream?” Pipe dream (sometimes hyphenated) originated in the US in the late 19th century, meaning (OED) a fantastic or impracticable notion or […]
“Forget about these people in the national office,” said Maria (not her real name). “They are not in touch with reality!” Maria is a district health manager in Kenya. This was her response when I asked how closely she works with the national Ministry of Health in delivering community health services. In 2013, the governance […]
Milton Keynes was established as a “new town”, to relieve housing congestion in London, 50 years ago on 23 January 1967, an event that I did not think worthy of inclusion in my list of scientific anniversaries in 2017. However, the name of the town has medical resonances. Milton Keynes, which now has around 250 […]
Patients as educators [1] are vital for organisational development. Their narratives of patient experience can connect patients, users, and healthcare providers to their common humanity. The Francis report (2013) [2] wanted healthcare organisations to be open, honest, transparent, and responsive to the voices of patients and staff. This type of attitude builds progressive, healthier organisations […]
Donald J Trump is now the 45th president of the United States of America. I’ve just returned from a trip to the Middle East where everywhere I went I heard folks talking about the impact of the new administration on US foreign policy (particularly in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict)—there is indeed a great deal of […]
Want to be a better physician or nurse leader? Enhance patient safety? Effectively lead teams? One of the current consultant prescriptions is the recommendation that leaders spend more time listening than talking. Whether in the larger management literature or in the articles and books that specifically target healthcare, listening is portrayed as a key to […]