Expert Comments

Opinion

‘Openness and transparency’ or ‘conceal and cover up’ in our NHS?

Following publication of an independent report into 10 deaths at the hands of mental health patients under the care of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust tweeted a quote...

October 18, 2016

Emma Wray

Blog

Cosmetic surgery – more practical guidance for patients

Following the guidance for doctors who offer cosmetic surgery issued by the General Medical Counsel (GMC) in April this year, the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has now issued some...

October 5, 2016

Andrew Harrison

Blog

‘Political maladministration’ contributes to unsafe discharge from hospital

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) has followed up the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report on unsafe discharge from hospital by accusing the government of ‘political...

September 29, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

It must be true, I read it in the paper…

Newspaper front pages are filled with the news that bisphosponates are being denied to breast cancer patients because of confusion over who will fund the treatment, but when i editor...

September 23, 2016

Emma Wray

Blog

When sorry seems to be the hardest word?

Under the principles of openness and transparency supposedly incorporated into NHS culture, an early admission of legal liability when things have gone badly wrong is always welcome, but what is...

September 16, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

The NHS is imploding: Ministers must focus

No sooner have we learnt that the Brexit campaign’s promised £350m a week was a lie, a series of five-day junior doctor strikes have been announced, alongside widespread predictions of...

September 13, 2016

Nina Ali

Opinion

Mental health services a let down for people in England?

Recent reports in the media/from interested bodies have highlighted concerns about mental health provision in England. There are several articles in the media which highlight that mentally ill people no...

September 7, 2016

Blog

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Officer Katrina Percy resigns

The departure of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive Officer Katrina Percy this week heralds fresh leadership of an organisation that was subject to criticism in a Report commissioned...

September 2, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

Childhood obesity – has the government missed a trick?

The government has launched its plan for tackling childhood obesity which has resulted in a largely negative response from experts and campaigners who say it does not go far enough....

August 19, 2016

Agata Usewicz

Opinion

The robots are coming

An article by Oliver Balch in the Guardian (23 July 2016) suggests that machines i.e. robots will become an increasingly common place in hospitals within the next decade. Robots carrying...

August 1, 2016

Priya Singh

Blog

Mother must have choice of delivery options for her baby

Although it is right that a doctor is entitled to prefer one of alternative approaches to delivery of a baby and to advise a mother of their preference and why,...

July 8, 2016

Andrew Harrison

Opinion

Is NHS provision for children in crisis?

On the same day that an independent review into the provision of children’s cardiac services in Bristol was published, the Charlie Chaplin Children’s ward at Ealing Hospital has closed, and...

June 30, 2016

Agata Usewicz

Opinion

Mefloquine – Defence Committee inquiry concludes British Armed Forces policy is wrong

On 24 May 2016, the House of Commons Defence Committee published its report into the use of anti-malarial drug, Lariam (also known as mefloquine), in the British Armed Forces. This...

June 22, 2016

Opinion

Recent deaths at Priory hospitals raise considerable questions about the role of private providers in the NHS

Last week it was reported that the inquest into the death of a 14 year-old, who was being treated at a private hospital run by the Priory Group, found a…

June 16, 2016

Opinion

As the poor state of our mental health services continues to make headlines, will promised new measures really make a difference?

In May we saw yet more headlines about how our mental health services are failing, with the BBC reporting that a review by the Children’s Commissioner has found that more...

June 6, 2016

Nina Ali

Opinion

Health Trust commissions independent review of homicides involving service users

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which admitted failings in the provision of care to recently convicted Matthew Daley (a 35 year old with known mental health problems who stabbed retired…

May 31, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

Home alone – PHSO report reveals failures in discharge and care for the elderly and vulnerable

Patients are being sent home alone, afraid and unable to cope and in some cases without their relatives or carers being told, resulting in devastating consequences, according to a report...

May 12, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

Personal maternity budgets: Will giving women more choice really drive up care standards?

Recently the National Maternity Review was published with recommendations as to how maternity services should change over the next five years, with proposals designed to make care safer and give...

May 4, 2016

Blog

End of life care

Recently (22 April 2016) published statistics from the Office for National Statistics show that there is still work to be done when it comes to end of life care, particularly...

April 26, 2016

Emma Wray

Opinion

Are we entering a new era of openness in the NHS?

At a Global Patient Safety Summit earlier this month, it was announced that for the first time health trusts in England have been ranked on their ability to learn from…

March 31, 2016