At the same time that a campaign is aiming to cut sugar in food by up to 30%, our sports stars are readily guzzling oodles of sugary drinks. Well, the […]
Guest writers
Alison Spurrier: What can we learn from the 1950s to improve patient care?
As a frontline nurse for nearly 40 years, I was intrigued to read Isabel Menzies Lyth’s 1960 paper on why a nursing service in a general hospital was on the […]
David Miller and Claire Harkins: Can the influence of the alcohol industry be curtailed?
Reviewing the myriad of connections in “Under the influence,” Jonathan Gornall’s account of the subversion of public health policy by the alcohol lobby, shows just […]
David Nutt: Win-win for industry and public health—the UK alcohol industry could take French lessons
One of the paradoxes of current UK alcohol policy is the remarkable differences between ours and that in France. In the UK we have seen the use of, and damage […]
Faheem Ahmed: On the sideline or frontline—where should the British medical profession stand in times of armed conflict overseas?
Only days before his proposed release date, Abbas Khan was found dead in a government prison in Damascus. Arrested soon after his arrival in Syria, Dr Khan had initially planned […]
Frank Boulton: An entirely avoidable “natural” disaster
Medical professionals and the general public fear health crises such as disease epidemics and natural disasters that could quickly overwhelm hospitals and medical staff. This fear has led us to […]
Chris Bateman on Nelson Mandela’s campaign against HIV
For Mandela, the sudden transition to a democratic South Africa and his ensuing bids to reconcile the racially divided nation meant he simply missed the rise in HIV infection rates […]
Tony Rao: Alcohol and hospital admissions data—look before you leap
Over the past two years, the popular press has been rife with headlines about how the sheer number of people with alcohol misuse is a “ticking time bomb” ready to […]
Simon Wessely: The lost trial—a Christmas story
A long long time ago, well, 1995 if you are asking, I was part of a team running a randomised controlled trial. I was, and indeed still am, working in […]
David Zigmond: We need an appointment with Dr Finlay
A recent article by Stephen Moss (“Pills, bills and bellyaches: a peek behind the scenes at a GP surgery,” Guardian.) is a vivid Hogarthian portrait of a frontline of our […]