“Asthma is a good example of the kind of condition we can help with….I use my hands to try to find and work on any tensions or misalignments that might be compromising normal motion. In asthma I may use gentle stretches to release the ribs and the soft tissues that are restricting them, or I might […]
Continue Reading →Bayesian and needles in haystacks: why medicine is difficult to do well
and why protocols are not the answer to good diagnosis and risk management. Excellent BMJ editorial telling it like it is. “identifying those febrile young children with the greatest risk for serious infection at the time of clinical presentation is like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Essentially, if you have a child with […]
Continue Reading →If your kids haven’t had your MMR…
now is the time. 330 cases in England in last 4 months. 4,000 cases so far this year in France. Some have died. The WHO says that 18 children die hourly from this preventable illness. MMR is free from your local NHS surgery.
Continue Reading →The Home Office, ‘Prevent’ and doctor/patient confidentiality
How I wish that politicians would stop telling doctors how to professionally behave. While we are much vexed about the Health Bill (how can there be a “u-turn” until commissioning is fully stopped?) the Home Office have put out their review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy. I worry that the authors understand what doctors do, why they […]
Continue Reading →Panorama and care homes
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 →“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 →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 →