“We’re doomed” was the familiar catch phrase of Private Fraser—the dour, Scottish ex-undertaker turned home guardsman from the popular BBC television series Dad’s Army. According to his Wikipedia page, Fraser […]
Columnists
Richard Smith: Burnt or buried?
Some things divide us fundamentally. Are you male or female, gay or straight, right wing or left wing? Another fundamental division, I suggest, is whether we want to be burnt […]
Tiago Villanueva: Medical mission in the Philippines
I’ve recently returned from a medical mission in the Philippines. Despite the frequency of natural disasters striking the country (typhoons, earthquakes, floods) and the reputation for being an extremely unsafe […]
Martin McShane: A new dynamic?
The political ambiguity is, mostly, resolved. Very shortly, appointments will be made to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). At the same time appointments will be made to the local arm of […]
Marge Berer: Another anti-abortion missionary
Punch-drunk on power after his success at sticking up two fingers to the entire health profession at the passage of the Health & Social Care bill in Parliament last week, […]
Richard Smith: Optimism in mental health
Last year I attended a meeting in Heidelberg on treatment of mental health problems and came away with a bleak view of the lack of progress. This week in another […]
Richard Smith: Can polio be eradicated or will it flare again?
In 1988 the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling for the eradication of polio by 2000. There were 350 000 cases in 1988, and by 2000 the number had […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Whatever happened to the diaphragm?
The recent debate in Washington about birth control being mandated for coverage by employers or by health insurance as well as the 101st celebration of International Women’s Day makes me […]
Richard Smith: What is sustainable intelligence?
At a recent party to honour David Pencheon, head of the NHS Sustainability Unit, we were all invited to have a go at defining sustainable intelligence. When I was a […]
Martin McShane: NHS MOT
Monday to Friday, for weeks now, there has been a teleconference bringing together the leads from all the major organisations across Lincolnshire involved in health and social care. The ambulance […]