I didn’t get into core medical training (CMT) at the first time of trying. This was unplanned for, uncalled for, and in my mind unquestionably someone else’s mistake. I was […]
Latest articles
Andrew McDonald: The war of words about cancer
This autumn the National Theatre’s repertoire will include a musical about cancer. Be honest. What is your first reaction? Revulsion at the poor taste of those involved? Despair that the […]
John Davies on his first shift as a doctor at the Olympic stadium
I had my first shift at the Olympic Stadium last night and it was my first opportunity to meet my colleagues. The medical service at the stadium is integrated, unlike […]
Tanoubi Ngangom on India and Africa’s partnership for access to medicines
Prime Minister Modi’s recently concluded four-nation tour to Africa is primarily regarded as part of his larger energy diplomacy outreach. However, what is often overlooked are the enormous investment opportunities […]
Hilary Powers: When to take vitamin D supplements
In late July 2016 the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and Public Health England (PHE) announced new recommendations on vitamin D. SACN reviewed the evidence at the request of the Department […]
John Davies: The Olympic Games opening ceremony in an occupied city
Over the weekend, downtown Rio was like an occupied city. Traffic was diverted from whole streets so that military lorries could park en echelon, guarded at each end by squads […]
Richard Smith: Preparing to be demented
My mother who is 86 has had no short term memory for nine years. She’s been in a nursing home for three years. My grandmother was also demented and died […]
Lee Schroeder, Timothy Amukele, and Madhukar Pai: Why the world needs an essential diagnostics list
Without diagnostic tests, medicine is blind. And yet, diagnostics receive much less attention than vaccines and drugs. Imagine a sick infant with bacterial sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa. Without diagnostics, they […]
Alex Scott-Samuel: Tory plans for NHS privatisation released during parliamentary recess
July 2016 saw the very quiet publication of two key documents charting the route to the privatisation of the NHS in England. Firstly, from NHS England, came Strengthening Financial Performance and […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . “The pharmaceutical industry”—the definite article
A colleague recently asked me to point him to “an authoritative definition of ‘pharmaceutical industry’.” The term is one that few have tried to define, perhaps thinking that there is […]