The derogatory language we use to describe people who use drugs is merely a symptom of a deeper problem, says Ian Hamilton […]
Year: 2018
Paul Burstow: Social care is more than just speeding up hospital discharge
Jeremy Hunt remains at the helm of the Department of Health—an announcement that last week generated a largely predictable and mostly tribal response. By making Hunt the secretary of state […]
Martin McKee: Too big to fail? The Carillion affair exposes wider failings of governance
Carillion, an outsourcing company that had become a major provider of support services in the NHS and other sectors of the economy has joined a select group of once great […]
Richard Smith: The corruption of medical language
A young doctor friend sends me a link to a piece he has written in the Guardian newspaper. I praise the simplicity and clarity of the language and suggest that […]
Kirsty Gadsby on delayed diagnosis: “I felt validated after years of feeling a fraud”
Listening to patients and thinking outside the box can make the difference between diagnosis and dismissal, says Kirsty Gadsby […]
Charles Clift: Tedros is refreshingly honest about the deficiencies in WHO governance and financing
Will member states respond? The executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO) will meet on 22-29 January. A key agenda item will be the latest draft of WHO’s 13th […]
Samantha Walker: Asthma diagnosis—harnessing the power of new technologies
In the UK, deaths due to asthma attacks are at their highest level for a decade, but with better diagnostics and tailoring of treatment to asthma sub-type, these could be […]
Sarah Wollaston: Everyone who can afford to do so needs to contribute more to the NHS
There is nothing new about winter pressures in the NHS, but those pressures have become relentless, extending into traditionally quieter months and deepening in intensity over the winter. It is […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—15 January 2018
Richard Lehman reviews the latest research in the top medical journals […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Nonexistent words, nonexistent meanings
As I noted last week, “spuria”, defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as “spurious works, words, etc.”, was first recorded in 1918. The word appeared in Rupert Brooke: a […]