7.6% 16-24 year old reported use in 2013/4 Click to access RestrictingSupplyNitrousOxide.pdf ACDM letter to Theresa May https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-advice-on-nitrous-oxide-abuse Bill https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/psychoactive-substances-bill-2015 http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/psychoactivesubstances.html

http://www.healthpolicyjrnl.com/article/S0168-8510(14)00272-3/abstract “We showed that some of the people who tend to use primary care services more often (e.g. retired people and people over 65 years) are more likely to choose to stay with a practice inside their neighbourhood than go outside. If it was confirmed that healthier groups (who use fewer services) were more interested […]

– I spoke against credentialing – where it the evidence of effectiveness, and what are we not doing instead when we are doing the paperwork for it – Supported John Cosgrove’s excellent #openRGCP paper, which means that all council papers will be open access unless there is good reason not to be. This was widely […]

New series and thanks to Kings Cross Pond !   great review article – co authored by Michael Tipton who is on the programme discussing cold water swimming http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4052348/ and a great website http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/swimming_tips/cold_water    

1) We would like more GPs, and we will train more, but this will take ages. In the absence of a secret GP growing tree, GPs should concentrate on things that work and stop doing things that don’t work. No more Healthchecks programme, end dementia screening, no targets for writing advance care plans (done instead […]

Dear David and Jeremy   I know that you don’t want the Torys to be  known as the Nasty Party. But you have scored an own goal with your manifesto. I am going to focus on two paragraphs only. They are on page 28. The first sentence says “We will work to eliminate child poverty […]

sent to LRB just now after this http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n06/letters Professor June Andrews says, of dementia that “The sooner someone sues a GP for failure to diagnose as early as possible, the better.” It is disturbing that Andrews, responding to Francis on the subject of dementia screening, is seemingly not aware of the evidence base. Screening is always […]

From about 10.30 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05q508v#auto Tories and over 75s access http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/10/conservatives-plug-nhs-funding-gap and chemist access to cholesterol/glc screening https://www.conservatives.com/~/media/files/green%20papers/a%20healthier%20nation.ashx?dl=true Lib Dems and skype Doctors criticise Royal College’s ‘disgraceful’ handling of PA debate Labour and private providers http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32088860 and manifesto http://b.3cdn.net/labouruk/89012f856521e93a4d_phm6bflfq.pdf SNP http://www.snp.org/vision/healthier-scotland/health-and-wellbeing Life expectancy in Scotland http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Life-expectancy-in-Scotland-1160.aspx impact  of mental illness on mortality http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0019590

I’m starting work on a new book. As part of this, I’m keen to speak to doctors, nurses, midwives, axillary nurses, porters, radiographers, technicians, anyone who worked in the NHS many decades ago – you may have retired recently or a few years back, but have had experience of the NHS in any part of […]

Patients and doctors need to be on the same side. I keep saying this, probably quite pointlessly, but it’s true; we are not each others’ enemy. If we become so, not only are we making the NHS a battleground, a horrible place for patients, and an unhappy place to work, but also an unsustainable organisation. […]