‘When it comes to safety for patients in the operating theatre, it’s not always the ‘big spends’ that make the biggest difference. For instance, the World Health Organization has developed a one-page safety checklist for surgical teams which maximises the chances of a good outcome – regardless of the geographic or economic setting. This Surgical Safety […]
High-income countries (defined by the World Bank as Gross National Income in dollars per capita per year), such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America are experiencing improved cancer outcomes. This is due to a variety of factors, such as screening and prevention measures along with evidence-based treatment strategies. Sadly not all […]
My job is to help reduce the pain that comes when the body starts to wear out, both as a clinician and a scientist. In November last year, we started the first human trials in the world of a new sort of hip replacement designed for active women. In the past, hip replacements have tended […]
Whatever hours you keep, and how many times you cross time zones, you can’t change your physiology. You are always going to be a 24-hour person, running on a precisely calibrated body clock which dictates when you feel sleepy, aroused, hungry, cooler and warmer. Although the sleep-wake cycle is the most obvious circadian rhythm, endocrine […]
Kleptomania is a recognised mental health problem which compels people to steal trivial items. However, only one per cent of people with the condition are diagnosed. Kleptomaniacs steal to satisfy an emotional need – to gain a sense of control in their chaotic and unhappy lives. Nadine Field, a consultant psychologist who specialises in treating people with kleptomania and […]
Take one city, 233,900 inhabitants, 3000 trained healthcare professionals and study facilitators and 235 million rows of data, and you have a ‘research ready city’. Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, recently became the first place in the world to host a real-world study of what was, at the time, a pre-licence medicine for lung […]
Rebecca Wallersteiner reviews ‘Fighting Fit’ a new World War II Medical History Book, by medical historian Laura Dawes – which explores how the nation’s health improved during England’s darkest hours At the beginning of the Second World War, medical experts predicted epidemics of physical and mental illness on the home front. Rationing would decimate the […]
Read More… from Fighting Fit: The Wartime Battle for Britain’s Health
“For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part”. These are the promises made between a loving couple as they look ahead to a long and happy marriage. But will you really be together until one of you takes your final breath? According to the Office […]
Read More… from Till death, or the nursing home, us do part?
‘Without flossing, there would be much more gum disease and tooth decay. I am surprised that a recent study has reported that flossing is not effective. I floss my teeth once a day – I think it is irreplaceable as a way to stop bacteria forming a stable colony in the mouth which leads to […]
The gruesome snapping sound of a leg bone breaking will be one of the memorable moments of the Rio Olympics – not least for the hapless French gymnast Samir Ait Said who suffered the injury when he landed badly on the vault. Many other world-class athletes have already had their dreams of medals dashed by injuries […]