A quiet milestone passed in May this year, when Nigerians marked nine years of unbroken civilian government, the longest period in the 48 years since independence. A year earlier, the peaceful handover of power from one civilian president to another was another significant milestone. This period has coincided with an era of unprecedented high oil […]
Tag: public health
Helen Barratt is feeling the pinch
Last week I found myself at a conference on multidisciplinary teamwork in the NHS, and one of the keynote speakers observed that the main benefit of the “credit crunch” is that bankers have overtaken healthcare professionals as the most hated profession in the country. The media is full of stories of doom, as the banking […]
Helen Barratt: Back to reality
Returning to full-time work after a year of studying has taken some getting used to. I’m slowly adjusting to my Outlook calendar running my life, and learning to survive the two hour meetings which are a regular part of life in public health. Lasting the course until 17:00 on Friday is still a struggle though. […]
David Pencheon on the NHS carbon reduction strategy
We have no right to steal from future generations. At the end of this month, the consultation will close on the proposed carbon reduction strategy for the NHS in England. This country is the first in the world to start legislating on climate change, the most serious and urgent health threat to current and future […]
Helen Barratt: Talking the talk
I wasn’t a bit surprised to read the report cited in this week’s journal about the use of jargon in public health. In fact, I rather wish I’d come up with the idea for the study myself. […]
Simon Chapman and Becky Freeman: A light and mild settlement?
On July 31, two of Canada’s biggest tobacco companies, Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd and Rothmans Benson and Hedges Inc, agreed to pay $300 million in fines and an additional $815 million in civil damages over the next 15 years for their admission that both companies aided persons to sell and be in possession of tobacco […]
Siddharta Yadav: Waist size story
Last week I attended the 29th Asian Medical Students’ Conference (AMSC) in Tokyo along with 450 other medical students like me from 20 countries in Asia and Pacific. Our aim: to fight non-communicable diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle in the Asia and Pacific. […]
Helen Barratt: Another round of paperwork
I’ve spent most of the last two weeks compiling paperwork for my ARCP (annual review of competency progression), which replaced the old SpR RITAs [records of in-training assessments] when MMC [Modernising Medical Careers] was implemented. ARCP not only doesn’t roll off the tongue like RITA, but the new process has brought with it even more […]