A rather disappointing debate recorded in Hansard on the subject of screening for cancer in men. Unfortunately the extremely important issues of effectiveness, evidence, and potential harms seem to have become lost, e.g. “the government is committed to introducing screening for prostate cancer” – but since the evidence is mixed but much of it shows that it does more harm than […]
Continue Reading →Health choices: and smoking in psychiatric hospitals
An interesting survey has been published by the Foundation for Mental Health. It’s called “Death of the smoking den, The initial impact of no smoking legislation in psychiatric units in England in 2008.” In the introduction to the report, Louis Appleby, the National Director for Mental Health is quoted as having said in 2007 “The rest of […]
Continue Reading →4D Antenatal scans need careful consideration
Not content to prescribe a shopping list of buggies, cots, Moses baskets, bibs, nappies, changing mats, slings, car seats, blankets, hats, romper suits and bootees, a contender on the pregnancy to-do list is the 4D baby scan. No, the fourth dimension is not really recordable (although my understanding of quantum physics is rather shaky) it refers instead to […]
Continue Reading →Research misconduct: rare or real?
Many people will be aware of the high profile examples of research misconduct which have occured over the past few years – for example, the Korean cloning research which was found to be fake. But what about the research we don’t know is fake or doctored? A systematic review and meta-analysis of survey data has […]
Continue Reading →The obesity paradox: column
Jamie Oliver, chef-champion of the British waistline, is taking his healthy-eating campaign to the US. We’ll see the results next year, when the six-part series is due to be broadcast. Meanwhile, in the UK, public health adverts feature small girls eating fairy cakes under the slogan: “is a premature death so tempting?” Guilt is ladled […]
Continue Reading →Swine flu in Scotland
There’s lots of it about, it seems: 160 cases in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and all but 8 acquired it locally. And most are only mildly unwell. Our locally issued guidelines have changed subtly too: testing was, until recently, limited to those who had particular risk factors for H1N1 (symptoms starting within seven days of […]
Continue Reading →Putting the emphasis on ‘sell’
My interviewee has asked for her surname and current place of work not to appear here. Louise is the perfect science pin-up girl: blonde, slim, and dressed in denim and boots when I meet her on campus. She works as a university teacher, facilitating medical students in “problem based learning” sessions. I have arranged to […]
Continue Reading →Management consultants in the NHS
If you have read the book Plundering the Public Sector (David Craig and Richard Brooks) or NHS plc (Allyson Pollock), then the concerns over the costs to the NHS of management consultants will not be news. A report echoing this was released by the House of Commons Health Committee at the end of last week […]
Continue Reading →Never too late…column
How much does willpower have to do with good health? If, for example, we have pursued a life of booze, fags and indolence, can we reverse the damage if we choose to? Or have our prior actions, and our genes, already determined our fate? Some philosophers, particularly the chain-smoking kind, may accept the idea of […]
Continue Reading →What do Jo Brand, Martin Amis and Lord Rees have in common?
They are all signatories to an open letter (as are FT Science Editor Clive Cookson and myself), condemning the use of English libel law to silence the critical discussion of medical practice and scientific evidence. This is in response to the Simon Singh case, where the British Chiropractic Association has sued him for libel: he has announced that he is to appeal.
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