WHO-Europe had its big meeting in Moscow this month. It was an amazing mixture of bureaucratic exercises, real health care politics, and interaction with local events. You may not find […]
Guest writers
John Appleby and Nancy Devlin: Which English hospital is best at hips?
Earlier this month, the first set of data on post-operative patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) was published by the Department of Health. For the first time, this has provided a […]
Thilo Govender: What about the children?
2003 – it was the best of times and it was the worst of times for people in South Africa with HIV/AIDS. The national minister of health at the time […]
Esohe Omoregie: What’s wrong with public health?
The other day, I had my first weekend on-call as an SHO. My consultant asked me the inevitable question about my career plans. I resisted the urge to stay in […]
Sandra Lako: The death of a child …
This afternoon an expatriate internal medicine doctor started an ultrasound workshop with the doctors. I thought it would be useful for me to go, so I did. The ultrasound room […]
Behrooz Astaneh: Towards professionalism at small medical journals
In the Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East, where I live, most medical journals are small ones. To help train the editors of some of these journals Shiraz University of Medical Sciences founded […]
Jeremy Sare on decriminalising drugs
When the most senior copper responsible for drugs openly questions the sense of criminalising young people for drugs possession then perhaps the game is finally up for the strict advocates […]
Sandra Lako: Intraosseous access saves lives
One afternoon I passed through the emergency room and noticed two doctors hovering over a patient attempting to get intravenous access. As in many of the emergency cases, the patient’s […]
Michael Powell: I had not expected to enjoy Ann Widdecombe
I had not expected to enjoy Ann Widdecombe’s BBC documentary on Cardinal John Henry Newman, (Saint or Sinner), broadcast on 18 September, especially as my interview was edited down to […]
Richard Smith: Computers take histories better than doctors – why don’t they do it more?
Here’s a simulated doctor patient consultation that took place today at the Royal Society of Medicine. A 65 year old woman (cunningly disguised as a bald, male professor from the […]