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
Being locked down has put a huge strain on the nation’s mental health
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
Hospital patients can remain connected via innovative app
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
Coronavirus home testing could lead us all out of lockdown
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
How long does it take to be clear of coronavirus?
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
Why cancer care needs to be put back on the agenda
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
Covid-19 is causing lasting damage to sense of smell
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
Our test and trace system is a failure, warn experts
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
Track and trace is useless if we don’t pick up phone
The Government announced with fanfare and flourish that we’d have a world-beating test-track-trace programme up and running by June 1. Well, that date came and went, yet again a deadline missed through over-promising. The problem is no politician, and especially … Read More
As coronavirus eases, we must tackle the drinking crisis the pandemic made worse
Covid-19 isn’t kind to sufferers of certain medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. And along with the pressures we are all under, we can add alcohol to that list. The harm drink does to our … Read More