By Angela Ballantyne and Mike King Donor-funded research is research funded by private donors in exchange for research-related benefits, such as trial participation or access to the trial intervention. An example of this is the oncolytic virus trial for neuroendocrine cancer at Uppsala University, for which Alexander Masters procured £2 million in funding from a […]
Latest articles
Access to Primary Care in a ‘Hostile Environment’
By Rose Glennerster and Nathan Hodson Last month 20 British doctors returned the medals they received in recognition of their work during the Ebola crisis. They were protesting against the extensions of the government’s “hostile environment” policy into healthcare, highlighting the case of Albert Thompson, a Windrush migrant who had lived in the UK for […]
We need more arguments in clinical ethics
By Melanie Jansen Ethics is a philosophical discipline. The bedrock of philosophical scholarship is the construction of arguments – a set of reasons that justify a particular position. Philosophers spend years cultivating critical reasoning skills and applying them to many and varied problems. While philosophy has universal application, it is often erroneously perceived as an […]
Gross negligence manslaughter and doctors
By Jo Samanta and Ash Samanta The recent prosecution of a doctor for gross negligence manslaughter has led to grave concerns particularly among medical professionals. The circumstances concerned the tragic death of a six-year-old child, who had been admitted to hospital. On the facts of the case Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba was charged with gross negligence […]
“Harms of Formula” Vs “Benefits of Breastfeeding” : Why we don’t “know” how to talk about the effects of different ways of feeding babies
By Fiona Woollard I’m sitting in a room filled with people who care deeply about mothers and babies. Many of them have dedicated their lives to improving support for new mothers to have the chance to feed their babies in the way they want. Someone is talking about cuts to breastfeeding support or about information provided […]
WORKSHOP | Cryonic Preservation: Ethical and Legal Questions
Wellcome Collection, London, 6th October 2018 “Cryonic preservation” (or “cryopreservation”) names a technique whereby a person currently suffering from a terminal illness has their body frozen for an indefinitely long period of time, in the hope that, once medical technology has advanced sufficiently, it will be possible for them to be revived and cured. In November […]
Artificial wombs: a shift in approach to neonatal intensive care and beyond
By Elizabeth Chloe Romanis What if there was no such thing as being born too premature to survive? Today babies born on the viability threshold (around 24 weeks) have little chance at life, or of a life without serious long-term health problems. Neonatal intensive care can only do so much for babies born with an undeveloped […]
Getting libertarians on board with mandatory vaccination
By Charlie T. Blunden Non-vaccination is causing serious problems worldwide. Take measles as an example. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control say that 95% of a population must receive two doses of a measles vaccine in order to prevent transmission of the disease through the population. However, many nations are falling below this […]
Advance decisions in dementia: when the past conflicts with the present
By George Gillett Last month, the Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee wrote an article in support of assisted dying. She wrote about Katherine Whitehorn, her former colleague at the Observer. Describing Whitehorn, Toynbee writes: She is not herself. Her old self would not recognise herself in this other being who sits in the care home. What […]
A sales rep and a doctor walk into a theatre – why this is no joke
By Quinn Grundy, Katrina Hutchison, Jane Johnson, Brette Blakely, Robyn Clay-Wlliams, Bernadette Richards, Wendy A Rogers Imagine that your elderly mother undergoes a hip replacement. During the post-operative appointment, the surgeon informs your mother that an error has been made: the two parts of the joint implant, a ball and socket, are mismatched. He explains that […]