Post Archive by Month

The longer the pandemic lasts, the more inequality we uncover. Now we learn both access to testing and its uptake is uneven across all socioeconomic groups, with BAME coming out worst. It’s not just in the UK that ­disparities exist … Read More

A few people responded to ­lockdown positively, it ­simplifies life. There are fewer options so there are fewer ­decisions to be made. But that kind of reaction ­presupposes you don’t mind your own company, rarely feel lonely and aren’t short … Read More

The mantra from ministers is “we follow the science”. But the increasing failure to serve all people of the ­nation equally suggests there should be another and equally important mantra – “we follow the ethics”. I’m increasingly disturbed by the … Read More

Social distancing and managing ­community health is such a balancing act. What’s already obvious during this pandemic is the nation’s mental as well as ­physical health has come under ­worrying pressure. And several groups of people may be more vulnerable … Read More

One of the worst aspects of Covid-19 is that patients can’t be supported and ­comforted by loved ones. Relatives miss seeing patients too. Maybe we should take a leaf out of the Mayo Clinic’s book to overcome this problem. As of … Read More

The Government’s approach to testing has been haphazard at best and chaotic at worst. The lack of a well-coordinated ­nationwide strategy means the gathering of data that could lead us out of lockdown may be reported piecemeal and be insufficient … Read More

One of the mainstays of ­controlling Covid-19 has been isolation, a very old-fashioned and well-tried strategy for containing infectious ­diseases. Think of the fever ­hospitals where patients with contagious ­infections were incarcerated. My sister was one. She contracted scarlet fever … Read More

Covid-19 has made us change many of the expectations we took for granted in medicine. One of them is the way we approach cancer treatments. Because of coronavirus quite rightly taking the lion’s share of resources, some cancer treatments, including … Read More

Most of what we taste is ­triggered by what we smell, so when we lose our sense of smell food can be on the tasteless side. Indeed, there was an experiment I did as a medical student where my nose … Read More

The headline published in the BMJ says it all. “Too slow and fundamentally flawed”. Our country’s test and trace ­programme is not fit for ­purpose, say public health experts. “I don’t believe the virus is under control, and I don’t … Read More