The current cot death story in BBC soap opera EastEnders has generated numerous complaints to the BBC and regulatory body Ofcom. One of the actors involved is now reportedly leaving […]
Guest writers
Brian Deer: Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism
On 21 November 1953, what is now Britain’s Natural History Museum stunned both science and the public by calling the fraud in the case of “Piltdown Man.” Fragments of fossilized jaw, […]
Paul Hobday on another NHS reorganisation
This is about the 13th reorganisation I’ve seen in my 3 decades as a GP. Up until now I’ve put it all down to the fact that politicians can’t resist […]
Aser García Rada: The value of one minute and delivery practices in Spain
It is a common Spanish tradition to play the “Christmas lottery” on December 22 — it is the most important draw of the year. Those that don’t win still keep […]
Franz Porzsolt : The Y nurse – pain in the neck or blessing for the team?
Grand rounds were the highlight of the week on the ward when the head of our department himself conducted them. They were fun, all bets were open, and the teacher […]
Layla McCay: Down with paternalism; long live shared decision making
Paternalism is so last century. In this new era of patient centered care, the modern health professional knows the importance of involving patients in decisions about their care, particularly when […]
“e-Patient Dave” deBronkart: Back to the future: Tom Ferguson’s “e patients” emerge in shared decision-making
I’m an e-patient: empowered, engaged, equipped, enabled. Diagnosed in 2007 with late stage kidney cancer, I used the internet in every way possible to help my cause, in concert with […]
John Coggon: Organ donation and public ethics
Public healthcare is by definition everyone’s business. Yet there is considerable disagreement about who should take part in its development. This problem is most pronounced when the issue is one […]
Vasiliy Vlassov: In the name of Pirogov
Recently Russia celebrated the 200th birthday of Nikolay Pirogov. He is one of Russia’s most esteemed physicians, famous for his surgical skills and teaching, research in clinical anatomy, and especially […]
Des O’Neill: Christmas, South Park, health, and pluralism
When the largest teaching hospital in Dublin removed the Christmas crib from its atrium a few years ago, the response to the resulting public outcry suggested a timorous confusion about […]