New research is a ‘wake up call’ for GPs- at least, according to Professor Steven Field, who is quoted today in the Telegraph as saying that doctors are needing more training in recognising dementia symptoms. The paper is in the BMJ, here, and I am rather amazed at the conclusions that both Field and the […]
Continue Reading →Will GP commissioning help patients get better?
I think not. I’ve spent a bit of time reading the new White Paper and associated fluff, I conclude that there are possibly two good things in it. I’ll get to them. But, oh, the jargon! And the rest of it! What on earth does ‘equity and excellence: liberating the NHS’ actually mean? I’m really […]
Continue Reading →The moral of the whale and the dolphin
If you are ever thinking of a tattoo, read Northern Doctor first.
Continue Reading →Chiropractic ‘checks’ for children
I am aware of several clinics offering these with the promise of easing colic, even asthma: or preventing problems allegedly caused by birth……so well played, to the journal of Chiropractic and Osteopathy, which concludes, after reviewing the evidence, that a lack of evidence for chiropractic in children has been noted since the 1940s, and almost […]
Continue Reading →H1N1 vaccinations and the WHO
I’m preparing for the Cheltenham Science Festival on Wednesday – and this video feature from the BMJ/Bureau of Investigative Journalism is outstanding. Do watch, if you are interested in the conflicts of interest the WHO might not have told you about when issuing guidelines for dealing with H1N1. I am up for defending myself for not […]
Continue Reading →Revalidation for doctors halted : evidence over policy?
Interesting stuff: the Government telling the GMC that it wants evidence based revalidation. The first page of the letter is here (do send the other if you can) and a report is here. It’s not being stopped completely, but there is to be a further year of pilots before a decision. Good. Revalidation for doctors […]
Continue Reading →More on acupuncture, in mice
Previous blogs have related the interesting conundrum about acupuncture: it seems to have a beneficial effect on pain, but not because of the traditional ways of explaining it, via meridians and etc. Rather, there seems to be something biological happening, and the next job is to try and explain it in a rational, science-based way. There has […]
Continue Reading →Neville Rigby: |Few GP practices have been resourced, mobilised or motivated to address their patients’ obesity in any meaningful way”
The strategic advisor of the National Obesity Forum says so, in the Guardian. He’s right about awareness campaigns, which are generally useless for lots of reasons. But he’s wrong in thinking that the solution to obesity somehow rests in my consulting room. Lots of evidence suggests that the only long term successful treatment for obesity […]
Continue Reading →Memo to Andrew L:
First, good move on halting those Darzi centre builds: they were inefficient, and unnecessary. Further cuts are quite easy to make without impinging adversely on patient care: Connecting for Health (very expensive, unnecessary, inefficient) All managers monitoring 4 hour waits in A and E (scrap the target while you’re there), managers monitoring junior doctors hours, […]
Continue Reading →What makes mistakes happen
This paper from the Archives of Internal Medicine is notable: nurses make mistakes when giving out medication, and nurses who are frequently interrupted make even more mistakes. This might seem like stating the obvious, but often the obvious needs clarification and evidence. What next? I am very afraid that this research will be taken up my people […]
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