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
Dr Miriam Stoppard feared she would die after catching coronavirus due to lung condition
What I thought was a bad attack of flu at the beginning of February left me too weak to stand, let alone walk. When I did finally get out of bed I was as weak as a kitten and had … Read More
How I was laid low by coronavirus – and survived
I’m Covid positive! That means that I’ve had a coronavirus infection and survived because my body responded to Covid-19 by manufacturing antibodies. Antibodies that neutralised the virus. The antibody test I had wasn’t the prick test but the hardcore blood … Read More