The future of the NHS

The ramifications of the NHS bill have rightly been hitting the news this last week. As the government cloaks the reality of what the reforms actually mean, with the platitudes of nicely worded sound bites, my blood pressure has been starting to rise. My constant dinner table rants about how the NHS will turn into an Americanised system of privatised care deceptively disguised under the logo of the NHS, have started to annoy my wife.

By Nick Edwards | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Monday, 30 January 2012 at 11:30 am

Volunteering: Appreciating how bittersweet life can be

Many of us like the idea of volunteering but find plenty of excuses not to.

Steve Watkins talks about how his personal experience of dementia helped him take the plunge.

By Steve Watkins | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Tuesday, 10 January 2012 at 12:01 am

Removing patients from GP lists is a last resort

According to this report, there is an increase in complaints about patients being unfairly removed from general practice lists. If the daily mail reporting of the story is to be believed, these decisions are left up to heavy handed receptionists and managers who act like overzealous doormen and will boot you “off the list” if you’ve dared to tut that the nurse is running late or are unfortunate enough to suffer from the wrong sort of ailment.

By Dr Ben Daniels | Health, Notebook | Thursday, 5 January 2012 at 12:00 am

The medical profession has a strangely schizophrenic attitude when it comes to pain

For the last few months I’ve been learning all about pain.

By James Moore | Health, Notebook | Wednesday, 7 December 2011 at 1:54 pm

HIV narratives: Beyond numbers

In medicine, we can spend such a vast proportion of time perceiving those with illnesses as patients, or as statistical numbers that we fail to regard them as individuals. This is particular pertinent to people living with HIV, which are in excess of 30 million; It is such a colossal number it can be hard to comprehend. Despite the wealth of research into prevention and treatment of HIV which has made an undeniable impact on survival of populations, the experience of the individual unwittingly can be overlooked.

By Dr Sima Barmania | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Friday, 2 December 2011 at 1:49 pm

World AIDS Day: Looking to the future

30 years have passed since the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) published its first reported case of AIDS. Since then over 25 million people have died from AIDS and an estimated 33.3 million are living with HIV today.

By Dr Sima Barmania | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 1 December 2011 at 1:34 pm

World Aids Day: Address stigma or reaching zero will remain a fantasy

The latest HIV statistics by UNAIDS illustrate that the number of people living with HIV has risen to a staggering 34 million globally – a figure that reflects those who became newly infected last year but also those who are already HIV positive living longer thanks to the scaling up of ARV treatment. But while new infections have fallen in some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, in places like the UK, despite consistent access to treatment for the majority who need it, new infections have been rising steadily over the past decade.

By Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Thursday, 1 December 2011 at 12:00 am

Harnessing the power of the mind to overcome obesity

The eating disorder service is a highly specialised branch of mental health traditionally focused on treating patients suffering severe weight loss through conditions like anorexia and bulimia. These patients often define themselves through their weight and body shape, and we are now looking at employing these skills to help tackle obesity.

By Eating Disorder Unit | Health, Notebook, Opinion | Friday, 25 November 2011 at 6:00 am

We should stop panicking about Boozy Britain

Here’s what everybody knows about Boozy Britain. As a nation we are drinking twice as much as we did sixty years ago. The double whammy of cheaper booze and 24 hour drinking has led to an epidemic of alcohol abuse which threatens to overwhelm the NHS. Alcohol-related hospital admissions have doubled in less than a decade and now stand at over one million per annum. Millions of us put our health in jeopardy by drinking more than the daily alcohol limits.

By Chris Snowdon | Battle of Ideas, Health | Tuesday, 15 November 2011 at 5:00 am

The case for HIV treatment as prevention

HIV treatment continues to be a lifeline for people living with the condition and it is a subject that continues to interest anyone remotely interested in the issue.

By Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma | Health, Notebook | Friday, 28 October 2011 at 9:33 am