This blog was commissioned following a debate on assisted dying at the BMA ARM. It is part of a collection of blogs on the topic. Jacky Davis argues that the BMA […]
Guest writers
Basil Porter: Deadly silence
I recently returned from a fiftieth anniversary reunion of our Witwatersrand Medical School graduating class in Johannesburg, South Africa. Many had spent their careers outside of South Africa, most in […]
Adrian James: Why mental health treatment should only ever be “patient-first”
Earlier this month I spoke at a conference on Psychological Therapies for Severe and Prolonged Mental Illness in London. I was one of only two psychiatrists on the bill, among many […]
Oliver Minton: Cancer survivorship—where to next
I was invited to attend the inaugural cancer survivorship conference in Brussels—at the time our interests aligned (and indeed still do). The conference felt different with patient groups, bankers, actuaries […]
Lara Fairall: Serendipity and scaling up towards universal primary care
A Brazilian adaptation of our PACK training programme for primary care doctors and nurses went live last week in the Southern city of Florianὸpolis, or Floripa as it is known […]
Alex Langford: The media stigmatise mental health problems
The anguish and despair caused by a public tragedy can be overwhelming. At such times the natural human response is to try to make sense of events, which allows us […]
Peter Thomson: Standing up for the rights of migrants and refugees in Europe
Recently I had the opportunity to watch a special screening of “Frontline Doctors: Winter Migrant Crisis” supported by Doctors of the World UK. Originally shown on the BBC in March, […]
Marcus Powell: A new and powerful relationship with patients
The NHS five year forward view talks about harnessing the “renewable energy represented by patients and communities” and the need to “engage with communities and citizens in new ways, involving […]
Angela Coulter: At last some better news on shared decision making
Shared decision making has now entered common parlance. Everyone seems to be talking about it and the term pops up frequently in report after report. But we can’t assume it’s […]
Sheila Hollins et al: The BMA is right to reject a neutral position on assisted dying
The BMA’s annual representative meeting was right to reject a policy of neutrality on “assisted dying.” The “do no harm” principle lies at the centre of clinical practice and underpins […]