There was extensive media comment this weekend about the Court of Protection’s decision to authorise the force-feeding of a seriously anorexic former medical student with a critically low BMI. The […]
Columnists
Julian Sheather: Autonomy and the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment
The recent case of a young Jehovah’s Witness in a sickle cell crisis refusing essential blood products and being allowed to die confirms what should by now be widely known: […]
Do we now need a public health media centre?
The effectiveness of the public health workforce hinges on its ability to effectively communicate its key messages to the public. As the Department of Health undertakes yet another consultation on […]
Edzard Ernst: My evidence is better than yours
Humans tend to remember their pleasant and positive experiences and forget those events which were disagreeable or negative. We are not natural talents at coping with cognitive dissonance, and therefore […]
Richard Smith: Reducing the world’s blood pressure
What do you think is the risk factor that causes the most deaths globally? Until I saw the data I’d have answered tobacco. But in fact it’s high blood pressure. […]
Richard Smith: It’s hard, perhaps impossibly hard, to be a good doctor
How would you feel if your patient said to you: “I want you to be my Virgil, leading me through my purgatory or inferno, pointing out the sights as we […]
Tiago Villanueva: Mass gathering medicine
I won’t have the privilege of attending the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but I recently had the opportunity to attend a meeting with mass gathering medicine experts chaired by David […]
Martin McShane: Letting go
One aspect of my job that I have enjoyed over the last few years has been engaging with the public. It has never been dull. When I first arrived in […]
James Raftery: Abaritarone for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer—whose victory?
The decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in May, after a provisional refusal in February, to recommend abaritarone acetate for metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer […]
Richard Smith: Your chance to do good and have fun in one night
This is a shameless plug for a charity comedy night on 31 May where we have the two great doctor comics, Harry Hill and Phil Hammond, Ian Roberts (the laughing […]