Nurses often sacrifice their own needs to care for others, and this is right and good and expected. Nursing is a profession of selflessness where you give not to receive but to serve those in need. If you lack the ability to deny yourself (as some nurses seem to), then you can come across as […]
Should we always challenge the distorted beliefs of someone with dementia or do inaccurate memories play an important role in helping them to retain key information? Researchers at the University of Birmingham suggest that distorted memories play a role in preserving knowledge for someone with dementia and that the role they play should be evaluated. […]
This month, Marie Curie holds our annual Great Daffodil Appeal and millions of people will wear a daffodil pin and make a donation in support of our work. It’s always incredibly inspiring to see how many people take part and contribute their time, energy and enthusiasm to our largest annual fundraising campaign. This year we […]
Mike Thomson is a doctor from the UK, currently working in Irbid, Jordan, at a Medecins Sans Frontieres project which focuses on refugee health for those with chronic illnesses. Here he blogs about taking up a new role, as the mental health lead for the project. ‘Mental health provision was not part of the original […]
Why is there still such a huge stigma around breastfeeding in public? New research reveals over three quarters of British parents believe children should be taught about breastfeeding at school, to help normalise the practice and end the stigma for good. Even in these progressive times, there is still some way to go before new […]
Many more people are living longer in the UK, which is great news, but also means we have to look carefully at health care, social care and how we integrate older and younger people in society. The one-day conference at the Royal Society of Medicine, at which I will be speaking, is looking at Successful […]
I’m happy to be open about the fact that I have incurable lung cancer and I’m also the medical director of Public Health England. I can’t entirely separate the two but this blog is more about my personal take on living and dying and I’m not speaking on behalf of PHE. I’m 54 years old […]
Do household remedies really work? Whether it’s superstitions, family remedies passed down through the generations, or simply little tricks that you swear on, almost everyone has some unusual methods for fighting off common illnesses. Indeed, many of us have anecdotes of strange things our parents made us do because they promised it would rid us […]
In nursing there are many ways of saying goodbye when the therapeutic relationship ends. Some patients bid a cheery goodbye, cherishing their restored health, even prematurely self-discharging; for others, adieu is agony since it is a wrench to leave the ward routine and regain independence. Sometimes the farewell feels forced in the face of escalating […]
The perennial outrage over emergency winter pressure in NHS hospitals is now subsiding. As usual, we have seen the blame game and finger-wagging headlines about the failure to prepare. Emergency cash injections ensue, which of course is just fire-fighting money, while recommendations and solutions seem to be ignored. A year later we do it all […]