A few weeks ago, I started working at National Voices—the umbrella body bringing together health and care charities large and small in England. One of the first milestones that was […]
Patient and public perspectives
Miles Sibley: Evidence-based practice—a double standard?
The NHS has “a strong scientific tradition of evidence-based decisions about care”. So says the NHS Long Term Plan in its opening chapter. That claim could easily be skimmed […]
Sarah Markham: The success of the high intensity user programme should see it rolled out across the NHS
It all starts with a phone call and a simple opener: “Hi. My name’s Rhian. I work on behalf of the emergency department and I’m really worried about you. I […]
Sarah Markham: Screening tools for depression offer value when combined with an informed shared decision process
A study published today in The BMJ assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for screening to detect major depression. The researchers found that the PHQ-9 questionnaire […]
Ceinwen Giles: Brexit—Many patients who have the means to do so are stockpiling drugs
The fact that patients even have to consider this is a shameful indictment of the way in which those with long term health conditions are being ignored […]
Sarah Markham: Do psychedelic drugs have a place in psychiatric treatment?
The last few years have witnessed a revival of interest in the clinical potential and utility of psychedelics in mental health. Psychedelics and related compounds such as LSD, psilocybin, cannabis, […]
Emma Cartwright: The importance of choice between an insulin pump or multiple daily injections
Emma Cartwright describes how she made the decision to switch to using an insulin pump […]
Angela Coulter: What we can learn from public involvement at NICE
NICE celebrates its twentieth birthday today and it has much to celebrate. Despite an ever-widening remit and a budget squeeze, it has managed to avoid the turbulence experienced by other […]
Nicola Bennett: The US healthcare system can be a callous and financially menacing force
Nicola Bennett describes what it was like to deal with the US healthcare system throughout her husband’s illness and subsequent death […]
Lidia Luna Puerta: Patients are still not seen as potential partners in Singapore
“Trust your doctor?” I found this question on a flyer posted in the elevator in a hospital in Singapore and reflected that it might contain a message about the current […]