In Britain the state provides three supports for ageing: pensions, social care, and health care. Slowly but surely health care is eating other public services, including social care, which with […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Is palliative care having an existential crisis?
Is palliative care suffering from “chronic niceness”? What is its future? Lucy Selman, Libby Sallnow, Ros Taylor, Seamus O’Mahony, and Richard Smith discuss […]
Actions that health professionals can take to counter the climate emergency and improve their health
Richard Smith calls on readers to help with his list of things we can do to counter the climate emergency […]
Richard Smith: Waking up to the lethal effects of air pollution
I don’t think about what I’m breathing, but living in London I’m breathing filthy air. I can neither see nor smell the filth, but I’m now thinking about what I’m […]
Richard Smith: Emerging thinking of a new chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Last week I was pleased to be appointed as the chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC). As its name implies, the Alliance comprises health organisations, including […]
Richard Smith: The thinking of the new chief executive of NHSX, which is charged with digitising the NHS
One of the first health experiences of Matthew Gould, the new chief executive of NHSX, which is charged with digitising the NHS, was his wife with cancer being looked after […]
Richard Smith: Why are doctors sticking themselves to government buildings?
On the day that a United Nations report said that “Climate change is devastating our seas and frozen regions as never before,” I joined a protest with Doctors for Extinction […]
Richard Smith: A morning of climate striking
If you weren’t at today’s climate strike you should think seriously about being at the next one for three reasons. Firstly, there is no issue as crucial as climate chaos, […]
Richard Smith: The “NCD crowd” vent their frustrations but identify some ways forward
“Frustrated” was the word used several times to describe the mood of people interested in combatting NCD (non-communicable disease) at a meeting at Chatham House last week. Progress is slow: […]
Richard Smith: Time to regulate cyclists
Yesterday a cyclist in the centre of London jumped a red light and clipped a pedestrian crossing the road. The pedestrian protested, at which point the cyclist got off his […]