A recently published BMJ paper on sex at 70
attracted the attention of the medical columnist for the New York Times. It also caught the attention of NYT readers, as evidenced by the 100+ responses to the article that have so far been posted online.

The Swedish study reported on the results of four surveys done every 10 years beginning in 1971. In each survey, a representative sample of 70-year old Swedish men and women were queried about the quantity and quality of their sex lives. Over the years the questions stayed the same but the answers did not.

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A friend, possibly drunk, recently sent me a message on Facebook to ask if I was a Thatcherite. Thatcher was in the news because of the debate about her state funeral. Hours later my friend sent a second message hoping that she hadn’t offended me. Eventually the next morning she rang me, desperate to be reassured that I hadn’t cut her off forever—because there was a time, still is for some, when to be asked if you were a Thatcherite was equivalent to being asked if you were a paedophile, strangler, or sadomasochist (the latter has, of course, become respectable in the past few weeks). more…

I must have written more than 500 expert witness reports over the last 30 years; on a score of occasions I have given expert evidence in a family, civil, or criminal court. I have read thousands of reports by other “experts”, some supporting and some opposing what I have stated. In court, I have heard some of them give their evidence orally. As a member and chairman of GMC Fitness to Practise panels (and certain of their forerunner committees) I have had, with colleagues, to decide if evidence from experts helps us determine the facts of a case. I deliberately used those inverted commas around the word expert. more…

Should doctors advise people to limit the number of children they have for the sake of the environment, asks the latest bmj.com poll. Our decision to ask this question was triggered by a huge amount of weekend coverage of the editorial by John Guillebaud and Pip Hayes: Population growth and climate change.  Scotsman columnist Gerald Warner accuses doctors of being conscripted into the bogus “man-made” global warming hysteria who should stick to the day job instead of being missionaries for “progressive dogma.” more…

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 acronyms to learn, and a whole host of other complications. more…

We moved. We are now living between piles of boxes and unpacked, random items: spoons; piles of sports socks; a wooden statue made from a tree in Oxford; the iron; a huge Herend teapot.

The first day was totally chaotic. It took me an hour to get dressed. I put on my socks. Then realised I had no idea where a shirt, trousers, or indeed any useful item of clothing might be. I hopped about the boxes and suitcases, freezing cold (it is mid-winter here), trying to locate anything wearable. Stuffed toys, ink cartridges, garbage bags and sleeping bags (all of which I managed to find before I found a shirt) didn’t count.

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We’re used to checking out the internet for the lowdown on our holiday destinations or theatre review, but what about finding yourself a good doc? Tapping into the government’s Choice agenda (see Michael Cross’ BMJ feature), the website www.iwantgreatcare.org is the brainchild of doctors.net founder and former hospital doctor, Dr Neil Bacon. According to Bacon, its aim is to empower: “patients to share their experience, knowledge and opinions [so] we can drive changes and improvements in the health service that will benefit all”.

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It was perhaps inevitable that a list of up to 100 experts untainted by drug industry money might get people talking. Questions such as why is so-and-so on it or so-and-so not on it, how do you get on it, and isn’t it all just a bit po-faced anyway, might well be asked.

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Apparently, we are moving to our new apartment on Thursday. Only we haven’t completed the sale as planned, on Monday. This is our fault, sort of. The bank didn’t send documents in time before we went on holiday in Tasmania. So we signed them late. more…

At a conference I attended recently we were all asked to think about what kind of care home we would like. This was a truly shocking question. It was a conference on death and dying, and I’d thought a lot about a good death. For me the thought of being in a care home was more terrifying than the idea of being dead. It’s the same for my mother, who may be only months away from a care home. more…