Increasing numbers of clinical staff at the hospital where I work declined invitations to be vaccinated against pandemic “swine” influenza. I think this is a worrying trend for both public […]
Month: November 2009
Ohad Oren: Routine operation, impeccable performance
“Bring sac close to peritoneum, drain its purulent liquid content, and have the shrunken pouch squeezed through this tiny hole.” Such was the senior surgeon’s instruction at the conclusion of […]
Tom Nolan: New pandemic flu guidelines – don’t forget your oximeter
New guidelines on the management of pandemic H1N1 influenza were published recently by the Department of Health. They include guidelines on when to refer patients to hospital (see below) and […]
Peter Lapsley: Please tick the box!
Some things never seem to change. I spent much of the ten years during which I ran the Skin Care Campaign (SCC) explaining patiently to the government and to pharmacists […]
Louise Kenny on paraquat poisoning
The night before last, one of the other doctors admitted a 22 year old male who had ingested concentrated paraquat whilst intoxicated. At the time of admission he was 24 […]
Liz Wager on Einstein, David Nutt, and academic freedom
I’m just back from Washington DC, where we held the first US meeting of COPE (the Committee on Publication Ethics). Engraved onto the building housing part of the National Academy […]
Richard Smith on assessing health technology assessment
The budget of Britain’s Health Technology Assessment programme has grown from £13m in 2006 to £88m in 2010, and it has conducted a swathe of trials on new technologies, published dozens […]
Richard Smith: Rethinking priorities in global health
Last week’s conference to launch Edinburgh University’s Global Health Academy left me thinking that priorities in global health may be very wrong. David Molyneaux from Liverpool said that an alien […]
Emily Spry on ER in the Pikin Hospital
I am happy and exhausted at the end of the first week of the new Triage system and Emergency Room at the Children’s Hospital. Around 80 children present to the […]
Carmi Z Margolis on global health education
When he first entered the spacious great room, a colleague exclaimed: “What an amazing place! I’ve always wanted to come to Bellagio! How did you do it?” I imagine most […]