Pre-covid, Thursdays were academic days for me, where mid-afternoon I would often wander down to academic midwifery colleagues for a gentle gossip and check in. Each time I would pass […]
Month: August 2020
The devastating impact of covid-19 on social care in England
England has emerged from the first phase of the covid-19 pandemic with one of the highest excess death tolls in Europe, and scrutiny is now falling on the government’s response […]
Olivia Hoffmann: A night on the “johnny van” changed my perceptions of sex work
A social accountability placement gave Olivia Hoffmann the opportunity to challenge her preconceptions and learn the importance of empathy, preserving your compassion, and connecting with the people who need you […]
Clinical communication with families in the age of covid-19: a challenge for critical care teams
The admission of a critically ill patient to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a distressing event for the patient, their family and friends, which has been amplified by the […]
Covid-19 pandemic: implications of school closures on children in India
The ongoing covid-19 pandemic has received the world’s attention. The pandemic has brought India, a country of over a billion people, to halt. In India, multiple states and school districts […]
Richard Smith: The faults and dangers of an iatrocracy
The first thing that struck Bernard-Henri Lévy, arguably France’s leading public intellectual, about the covid-19 pandemic was the rise of “medical power.” In his short, enjoyable, and provocative book The […]
How do “heroes” speak up? NHS staff raising concerns during covid-19
In the extraordinary months since covid-19 started, NHS healthcare professionals have found themselves in a surreal situation, straddling two distinct realities. On the one hand, there is such enormous gratitude […]
Patients’ emotions matter in the regulation of medicines
Regulatory decisions about medicines need to be informed by the emotional as well as the physical impact of living with medical conditions and having to balance the risks and benefits […]
Reclassifying endometriosis as a syndrome would benefit patient care
Recognising endometriosis as a syndrome would refocus treatment away from surgical eradication of lesions towards multidisciplinary care for complex symptoms such as chronic pain. […]
Beyond checklists: Seeing the patient in technicolour
When I swapped my purple Public Health consultant badge two years ago for an orange foundation year badge on the medical wards, I knew that there would be challenging weeks. […]