Out of the harrowing and often tragic cases that were highlighted by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Inquiry, Sir Robert Francis has started an extremely important conversation about whistleblowing with his […]
NHS
Jim Sherifi: I am an antibiotic resistance denier
I write as a humble jobbing GP incapable of sound clinical practice without instruction, guidance, and supervision from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), my clinical commissioning group, my […]
John Appleby: The cost of reform
Asked in 1972 whether the French Revolution had been good or bad, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai said that it was “too early to say.” As it turns out […]
Mohammed Bahgat et al: Is the friends and family test a true feedback tool of NHS services?
The NHS friends and family test (FFT) was launched in April 2013 to support the fundamental principle that people who use NHS services should have the opportunity to provide feedback […]
James Buchanan: Genomics, the data revolution, and health economics—the 2015 Astellas Innovation Debate
It’s early days, but 2015 is already shaping up to be another exciting year for researchers in genomics. In his State of the Union address last month, Barack Obama launched […]
Guddi Vijaya Rani Singh: What matters—medicine, culture, and the space in between
My grandfather passed away last year. Surrounded by travel weary loved ones (from an extended family that also extends across continents), this man from rural India was promised a peaceful […]
Saurabh Jha: The overdiagnosed party/ the false positives rave
Consider this equation. Early Diagnosis = Early Diagnosis + Overdiagnosis (1.1) This sort of unequal algebra will fail GCSE mathematics. A new NHS initiative is arithmetic defying as well. Patients who […]
Ted Willis: Consequences of the “John Wayne” contract (“A GP has to do what a GP has to do”)
Why is general practice unpopular, with low morale, falling applications for training, and—according to some experts—poor overall performance? I have worked as a GP for over 25 years and it […]
Ahmed Rashid: Leadership in primary care—the “odd one out”
Picture the scene. It was the first day of the NHS national medical director’s clinical fellow scheme induction. A group of junior doctors, who had successfully applied to take a […]
David Oliver: Discharging patients from overcrowded hospitals—fewer “progress chasers” and more “doers” please
This year, urgent activity in English NHS hospitals has reportedly hit a record high. Officially reported “delayed transfers of care” (inpatients medically fit to leave, but awaiting community health and […]