The fantasy that doctors are primarily concerned with patients and not much at all with money goes deep and is highly reassuring. Everybody was upset by two health ministers – […]
Guest writers
Julian Sheather: The girl who said no to a heart
When she was five, Hannah Jones was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Although successfully treated, the drugs weakened her heart and by the time she was twelve it was clear that without […]
Richard Smith: A bad case of health
I’ve been puzzling for years over how to define health without making much progress, but I thought I might take a step forward by listening to a discussion on the […]
MSF doctor Caroline Forwood on kala azar in India
The music is loud tonight, layers of competing sounds, horns and wind instruments, a screeching female voice on a tannoy system then a man with a better trained voice, car […]
Richard Smith: What do you do these days?
About twice a week somebody asks me: “What exactly do you do these days?” Many doctors knew me as the editor of the BMJ, and they have a vague memory […]
Stephen Ginn: Xmas manifesto
It’s easy to assume that things are as they’ve always been. This of course is not the case and recently I discovered that the rate of economic growth during the […]
Eleanor Chrispin on methadone prescribing in prison
Former UK drugs tsar Mike Trace spoke out last week about what he perceives to be a territorial dispute between two Whitehall departments over the most appropriate treatment for heroin-addicted […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Immunisation in Bangladesh: who takes priority?
The team and I have a new project. We are embarking on a multi-country study that is looking at the Impact of Measles Eradication Activities on Immunization Services and Health […]
Olivia Roberts on the migration merry go round debate
Last week the British Medical Association (BMA) published an updated statement on the international migration of health workers. In the BMA’s view individuals have the right to migrate for personal […]
Nathan Ford: Losing momentum in the fight against HIV/AIDS
Six years ago the UK government made an important reversal in its policy towards HIV/AIDS treatment. Whereas previously the UK approach was to fund the building of general health care […]