Engage now
4 December 2009The United States is suffering from the same scenario we in the UK are: too few young people are going on to study science and maths, detrimental to the economy, and of course to horizons.
2009
No apathy among medical students
3 December 2009A criticism often laid at the medical profession is that they are quick to moan at the state of the NHS or the latest government initiative (and, on many counts, they may well be forgiven), but slow to engage in real debate and come up with meaningful alternatives. The status quo is much easier. Not… [Read More]
One Environmental Hazard That Could Easily Be Dealt With
1 December 2009Earlier this year, when a local housing association officer voiced concerns to Merseyside police about the dogs being bred at a terraced house in Wavertree, he was told that it wasn’t a police matter and no further action was taken. In the early hours of yesterday morning, the four year old grandson of the owner… [Read More]
Something to sleep on
27 November 2009I was astonished when one of my pupils, aged nine, regaled the class with details of the previous night: whereas I had been out-for-the-count for a good hour or so, she had been competing against Olympic superstars in an array of winter sports available on the latest Nintendo DSi system, and it seems she wasn’t alone. Early bedtime stories and warm milk have been replaced by late night alpine skiing and figure skating.
Reviving the ‘corpse’ of PbC
26 November 2009‘A corpse not for resuscitation’ the primary care czar, David Colin-Thome recently said of practice-based commissioning recently in an apparent lapse of concentration, protocol (or is it actually becoming DH policy)? Roll on a month and we have the latest report attempting to provide the holy grail.
Musical Chairs
25 November 2009As President of the EU Commission, José Manuel Barroso has begun the tricky task of distributing the portfolios for the 2009-2014 term; one Commissioner from each of the EU’s 27 member states will be responsible for setting and managing EU policy in a particular area. Member states are currently engaged in a game of ‘musical… [Read More]
Who Might Well Have Good Reason to Want to Put Back the Hands of Time
24 November 2009According to statistics published by the DCSF last week, the group of 11 year olds doing least well at school in England are white boys of British heritage from low-income homes that render them eligible for free school-meals. In 2009, while nearly three quarters of 11 year olds met target levels of attainment in English… [Read More]
700 medical students join new society to debate future of health care
23 November 2009Today sees the official launch of a new society founded by medical students for medical students, with the help of Civitas. Young Civitas for Medics aims to plug a gap in the medical curriculum by providing an open and impartial arena for students to learn how the NHS works and debate the future of health… [Read More]
Practical proposals
20 November 2009Shortly after a re-opening of the debate on ‘licences to teach’, teacher quality has come to the forefront of the US education agenda.
‘Cherry-picking’ health care
19 November 2009Catching up on health news after getting back on holiday I cannot resist commenting on this two-week old story. ‘Treatment centres accused of cherry-picking less complicated patients’ scream The Times and the HSJ. Well, surprise, surprise; as good ammo as it is to bash the independent sector (ignoring the fact that there are also well… [Read More]