Back in my early days as a radical medical student (a small, select group in the Belfast of the early 1970s) one of the international figures I admired greatly was […]
Guest writers
Khalid Ali: Amour—an award winning film talks candidly about life after a stroke
A new film, Amour, which deservedly won the Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, throws a new light into the harsh realities of the lives of stroke patients […]
Gabriel Scally: If it isn’t controversial it isn’t important
A standing ovation greeted every paper delivered at one of the sessions I attended at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in San Francisco. I thought the first paper […]
Nicola While: Time is running out for EU health legislation
The end of 2012 is the unofficial deadline for all legislative proposals to be published if EU decision makers stand any chance of finalising debate on the issue before the […]
Richard Smith: We need more doctor entrepreneurs
The NHS, UK PLC, and the wider world will all benefit if we have more doctor entrepreneurs willing to take risks and start up companies. Starting up a company can […]
Michael Dixon: The quest for healthy ageing
Without adequate focus from commissioners, ageing risks becoming an unsustainable burden for the UK. Achieving “healthy ageing” is one of the UK’s most pressing challenges. With an ageing population experiencing […]
David Kerr: Pooky night
When I was growing up in Scotland, celebrating Halloween was a major event in the calendar and something to look forward to at this grim time of year. Everyone got […]
Richard Smith: Meet and learn from Dr Twitter
At a meeting in Copenhagen earlier this week Bertalan Mesko was introduced as “the world leader in social media and medicine.” After listening to him and looking at some of […]
Julian Sheather: Time to claim kin with the volcanologists?
No, I am not about to declare myself a closet trekkie. I have in mind the decision by Judge Marco Billi to jail six Italian seismologists for giving ‘false assurances’ […]
Tara Lamont: From Bletchley Park to NICE
What can Bletchley Park teach us about organisations and organisational life? I have just read an excellent book by Christopher Grey, Decoding Organization (great title), who brings his academic experience […]