A year ago junior doctors in England went on strike for the first time in four decades. Jeremy Hunt, health secretary for England, used statistics on the so called “weekend […]
NHS
Keith Pearson: “I hear and share doctors concerns about revalidation”
When the General Medical Council (GMC) commissioned me to carry out a review—Taking Revalidation Forward—I considered revalidation’s primary function was to assure patients about the quality and safety of doctors. I […]
Martin McKee: A Shared Society? Interpreting Theresa May’s revolutionary vision
Theresa May is an unlikely revolutionary. Yet, on the day she entered 10 Downing Street, this was how she defined herself. She spoke of the need to tackle shorter life […]
Andrew S Al-Rais: How to avoid handover hostility
Arriving in resus the tension was palpable. A familiar interplay was evolving in the Paediatric bay. The “Handover Standoff.” On one side stood a fatigued transfer team accompanying an intubated […]
David Lock: Have NHS leaders failed to “speak truth unto power”?
This is blog is not a rant—well not too much of a rant. It is an expression of serious frustration about the way the NHS is run and about the […]
Arnie Purushotham: Multidisciplinary team meetings in cancer care need to change
Multidisciplinary team (MDT) working is one of the cornerstones of our cancer services. MDT meetings are vital for exemplary patient care but it is becoming increasingly clear that they need […]
Nick Hopkinson: NHS humanitarian crisis denial
When I qualified as a doctor in 1993, trolley medicine was completely routine. Post take ward rounds would typically visit people who had been waiting patiently in corridors overnight or […]
David Oliver: Closing more hospital beds—the policy zombie they couldn’t kill
During the silly season over Christmas and New Year, NHS England Chief Nursing Officer Jane Cummings gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph. She advocated better investment in community and […]
Mary E Black: New Year’s resolution—a smoke-free NHS
My doctor father used to regularly set his trousers on fire. Born in 1924, he started smoking cigarettes as a teenager. He died of a smoking related cancer in 2003. […]
Daniel Sokol: The ethics of the on-call rota
A colleague is sick. Someone is needed to cover him tomorrow. There are no locums and no volunteers. Who should be selected? Few issues generate more passion and cause more […]