I couldn’t watch this programme. The abuse was horrific. If you don’t know already, it was about physical and emotional abuse delivered by ‘care’ staff in a private hospital to patients with complex learning disability and mental health problems. Question Time just now is going on about private vs NHS care services. There is no […]
Continue Reading →Atos adverts tug at heartstrings
At least, they try to. New style advert in the BMJ today. Previous ads have emphasised that working for Atos, as ‘disability assessors’ for their contract with the DWP, is good for ‘work life balance‘. The newly worked ad says that “you could make the difference that gives someone on incapacity benefit a brighter future…It’s […]
Continue Reading →“we don’t drink enough water”
Advert on the BMJ website for “Hydration for Health“. It’s well worth noting that the sponsors are Danone Water. Water is a good drink, yes yes, but tapwater in a refilled bottle is far better than expensive bottled water. Also kidneys are excellent at ensuring that your fluid balance is perfect. Your body is pretty […]
Continue Reading →Twitter and me
have gone and done it. I don’t really understand it to be honest and am hardly a haiku artist. anyway it’s here and am willing to learn @mgtmccartney
Continue Reading →The British Journal of General Practice does acupuncture badly
Vested interest: I wrote to the new editor of the BJGP a few months ago asking if I could write about Atos, their disability ‘assessments’, and general practioners, but had an unenthusiastic response. I put this to one side, I hope, to discuss their shiny cover which is very yellow, and gives big font joy […]
Continue Reading →RIP, Dr Ann McPherson
Ann was one of those GPs who make you proud to share the profession. Exceptionally clever, able and committed, she was also so very generous and kind. I was (am) grateful to her many times. Deepest sympathies to her family. Rest in peace.
Continue Reading →Further privatisation is inevitable under the proposed NHS reforms
Clive Peedells’ excellent article in the BMJ: he’s right.
Continue Reading →This week: what GPs don’t know about asthma
In the BMJ: Recent headlines about general practitioners’ poor knowledge of asthma reflect flawed surveys, writes Margaret McCartney Are general practitioners no good at treating asthma? “GPs poor asthma training ‘risks lives,’” said the Independent recently, sternly warning that “Asthma UK says a survey found that 47% of GPs admit that their own knowledge about […]
Continue Reading →Food for the brain and self administered cognitive tests
Courtesy of the Daily Mail. “An early warning test for Alzheimer’s that can be taken online in 15 minutes has been developed by British scientists. It can spot signs of the debilitating brain disease in people as young as 50. The computer-based interactive quiz provides an instant result and could help delay or prevent the condition […]
Continue Reading →NHS reforms at the Guardian
reply below I wouldn’t argue – at all – that patient groups can be very useful for people and carers for many reasons. Patient groups, formal or informal, have been going on for years, and many people find them useful – many doctors find them useful as a resource for patients. But there are real […]
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