Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) were part of this governments plans for the NHS. GPs were encouraged to use them: this was meant to be the epitome of “patient choice”. But not only have many contracts been issued on a “take or pay” basis, the cost efficiencies of these units have not been hauled up for scrutiny. Professor […]
Continue Reading →Swine flu… and childcare
In the event of a pandemic flu, word was that medical students and all kinds of healthcare professionals (who don’t normally do diagnosis and prescribing) would be mobilised to take care of the ill populace. Lots of doctors now work part time because of their children and family life. If a pandemic arises such that […]
Continue Reading →The ethics of non NHS testing
I’m glad to see that this public consultation by the Nuffield Council has been launched today, asking questions about the ethical issues involved in whole-body CT scanning and genetic screening done in private clinics for people with no current health problems. It’s very good that these issues are being raised and debated. But I’m a bit concerned that […]
Continue Reading →Crossing the guideline
Guidelines, guidelines. My desktop, bookshelves and floor are covered with them. Advising on everything from diabetes to incontinence, they come from multiple agencies in increasing sizes and scope. Some guidelines are excellent; they save doctors from a long trawl through the evidence and give directions in shorthand that everyone can understand. But Baroness Young, chair […]
Continue Reading →Strike off whistleblowers?
Margaret Haywood was struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council last week. She had secretly filmed patients in the hospital where she worked to document the conditions, which she claimed to have previously reported. These images were subsequently broadcast on the BBC programme Panorama. There has been an outcry from nurses, as well as from some families […]
Continue Reading →Catholics say no to reiki
Thanks to Quackwatch for this link: the US Conference of Catholic Bishops have said that “For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems. In terms of caring for one’s physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not […]
Continue Reading →Abreast of the matter
I am reporting good news, for a change. The UK Breast Screening Service has said it intends to rip up the leaflet which is currently sent to women with breast screening appointments. A recent paper in the British Medical Journal outlined the kinds of uncertainties and likelihoods the authors thought would have counted as “fair […]
Continue Reading →Embarrassing illnesses, politicians and medical records
Of particular concern to me about the latest political scandal is the idea that the leader of the Conservative party was to be invited to publish his “full financial and medical records” apparently as a way to reassure the public that he had not had a sexually transmitted disease. It is difficult to see how a political […]
Continue Reading →Check the check up
And lo, the government said, we must woo voters. And they had a great idea: check ups. Let’s not leave them to the private providers. Let’s put them on the NHS. Everybody loves a check up. The Department of Health sets out its new idea in a policy paper “Putting prevention first – vascular checks: […]
Continue Reading →X-rays exposed
We all know that radiation from X-rays, along with other ionising radiations, is potentially harmful. Indeed, it’s quite easy to start worrying about the “risk” involved in having an X-ray – even though most of the radiation we’re exposed to comes from naturally occurring environmental sources. Still, the sensible use of X-rays is rightly drummed […]
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