Observations on the world and its inhabitants
The NHS does not simply experience isolated organisational failures. When patterns recur across trusts, regions and decades, failure ceases to be an incident and becomes a structural feature of the system itself. Reviews, inquiries and investigations have become the NHS’s primary mechanism of self‑reflection. Yet these rituals rarely alter the underlying dynamics that created the ...
The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 makes it a crime, punishable by two years’ imprisonment, to sell a product that Sweden used to achieve Europe’s lowest smoking mortality rate TVA2026, s.7-9. It simultaneously protects the sale of combustible cigarettes to every adult who already smokes them. Those two facts, side by side, tell you something ...
There are few things more unsettling than the idea that something unwanted has taken up residence inside your body. Microplastics have crossed from environmental concern to deeply personal intrusion, and the headlines have followed. Fragments in lung tissue. Particles in blood. Traces in the placenta. The reporting oscillates between quiet alarm and outright panic, and ...
An eight‑year‑old child was referred to hospital by his GP with fever, tachycardia, vomiting, and abdominal pain and a concern about a serious underlying cause, including appendicitis. At the hospital he was assessed not by a doctor but by an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who did not carry out blood tests, urine testing, repeat observations, or ...
This is the story of Laura Higginson, a 30-year-old trainee solicitor and mother of two, who died in 2017 after a hospital (iatrogenic) overdose in relation to Gitelman Syndrome (affecting 1 in 40,000 people in the UK). It details her husband; Antony’s nine-year battle to uncover the truth and hold the medical staff and regulatory ...
The first two years are a transformation from a creature of pure reflex to a person with a distinct will and a growing sense of the world. While we track these milestones in categories, they do not happen in isolation. A baby does not just learn to crawl; they learn to crawl because they have ...
If you ask the next 100 people you meet what’s the risk of a nuke going off, expect the answer to be (with a smirk), “Calm down. No nuke is going to set off. Everybody knows that once nukes fly it’s the end of the world. Nobody wants that. So the risk , it’s very ...
Aspirin exists in the modern mind as a simple household remedy, yet its lineage as a biological intervention spans thousands of years, beginning with ancient willow bark preparations. The scientific understanding of the compound underwent a massive transition in 1971 with the discovery of its specific enzymatic pathways—a breakthrough that eventually merited a Nobel Prize. ...
In the era of 21st century high-quality care, where robots deliver your meds and AI diagnoses your ailments, the NHS has boldly innovated by turning corridors into the latest treatment hotspots. Who needs fancy wards or proper rooms when you can have the thrilling ambiance of foot traffic and the gentle hum of passing trolleys? ...
In a stunning blow to the “thoughts and prayers” of the school of hospital management, a new study suggests that nurses might actually be more than just decorative additions to hospital wards. In what is being hailed as the most ground-breaking scientific achievement since someone noticed that fire is hot and the sky is generally ...
If you follow health and nutrition news, you’ve probably experienced the same punctuated process of discovery that many of us have. One moment, you’re reading about the impressive antioxidant properties of Thymoquinone, a potent compound found in black cumin seed oil. The next, you’re learning about the heart health benefits of Resveratrol from red grapes, ...
The history of world-class achievement is haunted by one harrowing question: Is genius inextricably tied to suffering? Across music, literature, and the unforgiving arenas of law, a devastating pattern emerges. Brilliant people possess extraordinary emotional depth and mental capacity. These gifts are frequently rooted in profound personal trauma. This trauma fuels an overwhelming need for ...
🧠 Welcome to the Dopamine Desert In the spirit of reputational cartography and ensemble storytelling, I present a diagnostic artefact so rich in irony it could be prescribed as a laxative. This post is not a scientific treatise—though it may contain traces of serotonin. You have a roast of modern pharmacology, and a cautionary tale ...
Welcome, dear reader, to the golden age of UK healthcare in England & Wales— a time of bold vision, decisive leadership, and the sort of strategic brilliance that can only be achieved when the primary design principle is “do more with less, then do less with less, then pretend it’s more again.” This is ...
Picture the scene: a psychiatrist, armed only with a clipboard and a dwindling supply of professional dignity, receives a memo that reads like the fevered output of a late-night brainstorming session fuelled by expired coffee and unchecked optimism. “Facilitate trauma reenactment sessions using high-definition gaming platforms,” it begins, as though this were a perfectly reasonable ...
The cafe was an olfactory triumph of fresh brewed coffee and passive aggression. A perfect backdrop, Tarek reflected, for Jane’s latest intellectual evolution. He was here because Jane invited him to brunch, but Jane, it appeared, was here to field-test two highly-digestible, conveniently misinterpreted TED Talks. Her enthusiasm was, as ever, a weaponised form of ...
Across the UK healthcare sector, institutions are increasingly adopting tools like the “Safeguard-o-Matic 3000” to manage reputational risks and streamline compliance processes. This device, widely used in various settings, is designed to detect, deflect, and dilute allegations of misconduct before they escalate. Note: This satirical section is intended to critique broader trends in institutional safeguarding ...
Gather ’round, my fellow inhabitants of reality, for a tale from the land where medical logic apparently took a sabbatical. As someone who spends their days trying to untangle actual human brains, the recent shenanigans in Indian healthcare have left my own cerebrum feeling rather scrambled. It’s a masterclass in how, when it comes to ...
Well, the things and people I come across, and have to deal with – I tell you. This anecdote follows on from the side-splitting: The Great Cabbage Conspiracy: Why water is useless! Let’s get into this one. “Right,” I began, trying to sound helpful, “what exactly is wrong with your knee, then? Is it, you ...
Well, I’ve been busy elsewhere as ‘some’ may know. But it’s a very busy world where I have to compete with Twitter, Instagram, Facetime, Netflix, Amazon etc to get people to even notice what’s going on. It’s fine – at least this article is evidence that people are too busy to notice things that should ...
Alright, gather ’round, folks, and let me tell you a tale of culinary peril, a rogue piece of cabbage, and the baffling human instinct to offer water when someone’s clearly drowning… on land. It all started innocently enough. I was minding my own business, enjoying a perfectly average meal, when BAM! A tiny, yet incredibly ...
Situations where authority trumps logic continue to weigh on my mind. As a doctor, I often find myself in situations where I need to break down complex concepts into simple, digestible pieces of information for patients and staff. Despite my best efforts to avoid medical jargon and make these explanations as clear as possible, I ...
In the pursuit of freedom, many often focus on external factors such as the ability to travel, to spend money, acquire possessions, or surround themselves with friends. While these aspects of freedom are undoubtedly important, there exists a deeper, more personal form of liberation that emerges from embracing solitude and cultivating a rich inner life. ...
I really don’t understand. It is so unfair. I tried to learn and thought I did learn what was important to doctors on a certain forum. Then I’m beaten up for the understanding I was led to. Oh well it is the rough and tumble of forums, I must understand and try to accept – ...
The recent events on the sentencing of Valdo Calocane have led to public outcries. Mr Coates’ son James (a victim) said that Calocane had “made a mockery of the system“, adding that “he has got away with murder“. I have no relationship to the victims, their families, Calocane or the legal proceedings. This exploration will ...
I’ve long said that cultures and traditions rules minds. Of course, I’ve been gathering evidence in various domains over the years. The towels and linen situation has been most intriguing. Not many people seem to know about this. How? Nobody in the last 33 years has volunteered similar observations. What is it? A picture is ...
Holy mother of God! [Not that I believe in Gods] What a tongue twister is that? What on earth is it and what does it mean?!! Most people can’t even say or spell ‘Psychiatry‘ and here I am creating worse tongue-twisters. You need help? Help yourself. Break it down: anthro-synth-i-atry The clue is in the ...
Oh yes – that’s what I am forced to ask myself because others will no doubt wonder after reading some of this blog. How crazy am I? Much of today Saturday 02/12/2023 was taken up reading details the case Prof Marjan Jahangiri. It is in the public domain. I can imagine some will be going, ...
I’ve obviously been too busy elsewhere to be writing up here. Well, as some may know I’m writing a lot more stuff in other places and producing videos. Suffering In the last 12 months I’ve been exposed to the worst kinds of human suffering. It is in health services of course. If you were born ...
In the last 2 months I’ve been working flat out. I’m coming into so many clinical and managerial issues. I’ve been in a state of disbelief about what’s happening – or rather not happening for patients. This has put me into deep thought on the fundamentals of medical practice. Hence I’ve been busy over at ...
