Labour pledges to outspend Conservatives on health with {pound}26bn NHS “rescue plan”
A Labour government will increase health spending by an average of 4.3% a year over…
Author: British Medical Journal
Seven days in medicine: 6-12 Nov 2019
CAMHSGPs are unsure that referrals lead to treatmentOver three quarters (76%) of 1008 GPs surveyed…
Rates of colorectal cancer after negative colonoscopies vary by provider, study finds
The rate at which people develop colorectal cancer within three years of a colonoscopy negative…
New Zealand will hold referendum on assisted dying in 2020
The New Zealand government has announced a public referendum on euthanasia which, if passed, will…
US to probe Google deal to manage healthcare data
The Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Health and Human Services has…
High Court rules that 14 year old Jehovah’s Witness should have blood transfusions
A High Court judge has given the go-ahead for doctors to give blood transfusions to…
Can we discuss my life goals as well?
This year I felt positive when I arranged the annual review for my mild asthma….
Ebola is now “preventable and treatable,” says WHO after approving vaccine in record time
The World Health Organization has prequalified the injectable Ebola vaccine Ervebo in a move that…
Polio outbreak: officials deny reports of cover-up in Pakistan
Pakistan has launched a fresh campaign to increase the uptake of polio vaccine, after the…
Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage: diagnosis and initial management: summary of updated NICE guidance
What you need to knowThe guideline now includes new recommendations on the ultrasound features for…
Back to the future? Health and the World Bank’s human capital index
Over the past 25 years, the World Bank has become one the world’s most influential…
David Oliver: Does doctors’ admin take up too much time?
An essay by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker, “Why doctors hate their computers,” made…
Well played: the joy of outdoor freedom
bmj;367/nov13_1/l6478/FAF1faChildren play in Manchester in 1969, jumping in and out of burnt-out cars, balancing on…
Tories promise 6000 extra GPs by 2024
General practice hit the headlines this week when the Conservatives promised to deliver 6000 more…
Jobs come under threat at troubled Karolinska hospital in Sweden
Some 250 doctors and 350 nurses at the New Karolinska Hospital (NKS) in Stockholm have…
Rammya Mathew: We need to rise above racist abuse and challenge attitudes
The recent case of Radhakrishna Shanbhag, a senior trauma and orthopaedic surgeon who was asked…
Rising opioid prescriptions may not be a crisis
Smith and colleagues describe widespread opioid prescribing and use in European and North American countries.1…
Most of the world’s population lacks access to opioid drugs for pain control
Smith and colleagues say that opioid prescribing is rising in many countries,1 with the result…
Drug related deaths: playing politics while people die
Once again the UK has recorded its highest rate of drug related deaths—this is the…
Can a low income country move towards universal health coverage?
Mali is a vast and troubled country. Much of it is lawless Sahara desert, where…
Helen Salisbury: The performance of kindness
Patients arrive at a GP appointment with all manner of symptoms and varying degrees of…
Matt Morgan: We should encourage short service awards
As I walk towards the sound of 1970s music, coloured disco lights spill out from…
Obesity epidemic: bold and decisive action needed
The chief medical officer’s report on childhood obesity has helped to raise awareness of one…
Severe allergic reaction to vaping prompts warning from doctors
A Nottinghamshire paediatrician has reported a severe immune reaction in a 16 year old boy…
NICE recommends cannabis based drugs for epilepsy and multiple sclerosis
In final appraisal documents the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended…
“Touchy-feely” psychiatrist is suspended for six months
A psychiatrist whose “touchy-feely” advances led five female colleagues to complain about him has been…
Practical aspects of childhood epilepsy
What you need to know Official guidance advises consistency in brand prescribing of anti-epileptic drugsSleep…
Maurice Wilson Fowles
bmj;367/nov11_7/l6454/FAF1faMaurice Wilson Fowles was born in St Helens, Lancashire. He met his wife of over…
Cuts are stopping young adults getting specialist drug treatment, says expert
A 50% drop in the number of 18-25 year olds presenting for specialist drug treatment…
Will genome testing of healthy babies save lives?
What’s the claim?The media have reported that the health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock,…
Alan George Blandford
bmj;367/nov11_4/l6450/FAF1faAfter house jobs in Bristol Alan George Blandford joined his brother in law, Michael Bourke,…
Nabil Nassar: physician, teacher, and editor in chief of the Middle East edition of The BMJ
bmj;367/nov11_3/l6445/FAF1faPhoto credit: American University of BeirutNabil Nassar, who has died at the age of 80,…
How can I support a colleague who is being investigated?
Advocate for their wellbeingChristian Harkensee, consultant paediatrician, coach, and mentor, says, “Being formally investigated will…
Levetiracetam is a useful alternative to phenytoin for epileptic seizures in children
The studyLyttle MD, Rainford NEA, Gamble C, et al. Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment…
Sixty seconds on . . . sickies
I don’t feel too goodThat may be so, but new figures from the Office for…
Former Queen’s surgeon in Scotland was unfairly dismissed by NHS Grampian, says tribunal
The Queen’s former surgeon in Scotland has won an employment tribunal claim for constructive unfair…
Conversations around death are a privilege and responsibility that must not be taken lightly
Oliver discusses the importance of end-of-life conversations, which can be quite poorly handled.1 As consultants…
ENT surgery: increasing day cases could save money, release beds, and benefit patients
There is a “huge opportunity” for more ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery to be…
Pensions crisis: Make extra hours non-pensionable to ease winter pressure, says NHS Confederation
The government should consider allowing any pay from extra hours worked by senior doctors to…
Misleading information about Lyme disease
I’m glad to see the Science Media Centre briefing journalists about Lyme disease. Hopefully this…
All patients with a GP should be assumed eligible for secondary NHS care
Trusts responsible for charging overseas patients for NHS care have asked general practitioners to help…
Routine use of progesterone does not prevent miscarriage
The studyCoomarasamy A, Devall AJ, Cheed V, et al. A randomised trial of progesterone in…
Developing your career as a physician in general internal medicine
A career in general internal medicine is varied, challenging, and rewarding. Doctors in the specialty…
Wellbeing, not more beings, to tackle lack of consultant physicians
The lack of consultancy posts being filled is concerning.1 I fear the consequences for training,…
Waiting times compared across the four UK nations
It can be easy to forget quite how many NHS patients used to wait a…
Vaping: difference between inhalation and oral toxicology
The UK experts’ position on the (relative) safety of vaping is scientifically flawed.1 Alan Boobis,…
Nerve fibre function and fibromyalgia . . . and other stories
FibromyalgiaFibromyalgia is characterised by chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Its causation is poorly…
Wrapping The BMJ
Readers of the print BMJ may notice something different about this week’s copy. It arrived…
Abnormal calcifications in a pelvic radiograph
This radiograph (fig 1) shows multiple small, nodular, intra-abdominal calcifications. They were an incidental finding…
A man with weak limbs
A 58 year old man presented with one week of progressive right sided weakness and…