Well, I’d recommend an evidence based approach. I feel most upset when I read on the ‘Yes To Life – Your options for cancer website ‘ stories like this ” I’ve always been interested in the field of complementary medicine/therapy, so I started to investigate this in relation to my situation. I found an integrated […]
Continue Reading →No decision about me, without me
..and other fairy tales. From the Conservative party manifesto “putting patients in charge of making decisions about their care” is the choral refrain, and yet this week has seen a new Health and Social Care Bill which, bottom line, seeks to interrupt and decimate relationships between patients, GPs and hospital specialists by putting numerous other messy […]
Continue Reading →Flu vaccination and fiction
There are people with complications of flu in intensive care and much publicity; many people seem very anxious to pay for a flu vaccination privately if they don’t fall into the NHS’ ‘at risk’ categories. The chair of the RCGP has called for healthy people not to be given flu vaccination in order to save supplies […]
Continue Reading →GPs sell out
I’m sorry that this important newsitem from the BMJ is behind a paywall, but I’ll put up the really important bits. The political imperative is now to get GPs to commission care. One way of ‘saving money’ (if you are interested in short term, shallow, non clinical outcomes) is allegedly to deal with GP referrals […]
Continue Reading →Here’s a funny thing
I didn’t know that Karol Sikora had set up the the business of screening well people with CT, MRI et al. How interesting, considering the advice from the National Screening Portal. And how interesting, too, that they recommend as one of their ‘partners‘ ‘The Causeway Retreat’ which “offers individual and group addiction & stress therapy […]
Continue Reading →Three nice things for a happy new year
1. Paisley Observatory Built by the Coats family in 1883, and gifted to Paisley Buddies, it’s not just stunning but you can climb the stone steps into the dome and be treated to views of the moon, Jupiter or Saturn’s rings. The best thing is that your hosts are the very knowledgeable and fantastically enthusiastic […]
Continue Reading →The new NHS breast screening leaflet fails to impress
The best evidence that we have about the effectiveness and harms of breast screening comes from a large review done independent of the breast screening industry – with a patient information booklet available here – which states that It may be reasonable to attend for breast cancer screening with mammography, but it may also be reasonable […]
Continue Reading →Too many referral forms
I’m very chuffed to have a piece in the Christmas BMJ, jointly with two colleagues. It’s here
Continue Reading →The first day of (detox) Christmas
I forgot to put up the first detox press release of this Christmas season. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it. Sense about Science on detox remains good. ” Please see attached some information on Chris James’s brand new 12 Day Mind & Body Cleanse. I’ve also attached his biography so you […]
Continue Reading →Aspirin: don’t believe the hype. It’s still not a miracle drug
From yesterdays PM, Radio 4: Professor Peter Elwood, epidemiologist at Cardiff University: “I have always held that it is for the individual himself or herself to decide whether or not he or she would take aspirin – they should be told the risks or the benefits and it should be the patients or subjects value […]
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