August is here. For the population at large attention is being directed towards holidays, enjoying longer hours of daylight and making the most of the great outdoors. In sharp contrast to this season of relaxation, August presents a very different stage in the annual cycle for doctors working in hospital. This week a fresh cohort […]
The NHS is huge and complex. The numerous organisations which form its constituent parts continually evolve, divide, grow, and merge. Processes, authority and responsibilities forever shift with each change of the political winds. How can any single doctor ever expect to exert a worthwhile degree of influence, even if they wanted to? In the foreword […]
“Live long and prosper”. “Be healthy, wealthy and wise.” “Lang may yer lum reek!” In every culture there is a desire for a long and happy life and the advances in healthcare are playing a major part in significantly extending our life expectancy. It goes without saying that we want these additional years to be […]
At the end of what has been an excellent World Cup, an editorial in the Lancet has echoed the alarm which many will have felt at the spectacle being sullied by the poor management of players who were apparently concussed. Uruguay’s Alvero Pereira lay motionless for some time during a game with England. Argentina’s Javier […]
There appears to be no shortage of opinion at the moment about the financial predicaments facing the NHS, with concerns being raised about its realistic life expectancy. Lead stories are grabbing the headlines on an almost daily basis. Take for example the BBC Health report prompted by a Nuffield Trust survey which concludes that […]
Several recent and current healthcare news stories from different viewpoints are colliding to create increasing alarm over the future pressures upon the NHS. The Health Select Committee has highlight the fact that dealing long term health conditions, such as diabetes, accounts for 70% of all health spending to be focused upon just 30% of patients. […]
Hot on the heels of last week’s headline grabbing story regarding the new website which, as part of its brief, will name and shame NHS Trusts which have been rated poor for honesty and openness, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has gone on record to state that he wants to expose doctors whose failure to spot […]
A dominant story in the news this week has been the output and reaction to a government review which suggested that a fifth of hospital trusts in England may be covering up mistakes. As part of their actions to stop 6000 preventable deaths over the next three years, a new website has been launched allowing […]
The topic of appraisal, particularly in relation to revalidation, has been a focus of discussion at the British Medical Association’s Annual Representative Meeting this week. Although doctors were keen to stress that they had welcomed and embraced what they believed would be a valuable process, which would make better doctors and benefit patients, the report […]
Satisfaction with the NHS in Scotland has increased significantly in the last decade, research suggests. According to an official survey of almost 1,500 members of the public (rather than patients), satisfaction with the NHS in Scotland has increased significantly in the last decade. 61% of those polled were either very or quite satisfied with the […]
