Compulsory coupledom: in sickness and in health?
Recent research has suggested that people who live together, including cohabiting unmarried and married couples, report better health than individuals who have never engaged in such relationships. Perhaps not surprising when we think about the poor health outcomes that can...
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NHS staff discover they will get hundreds of pounds less than many thought
BREAKING NEWS: UPDATE 20:15, 25th July 2018: The head of the Royal College of Nursing, Janet Davies, has today taken the unprecedented step of writing to members to apologise that staff were given incorrect information about their pay deal voted...
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The power of a professor: Health Care Provision for ‘deserving’ refugees in Germany
According to article 20 of German basic law, the Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state which implies the provision of social security for everybody who stays within the national boundaries. However, the level of provision differs depending...
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NHS Privatisation and who really is Matt Hancock?
It was back in September 2013 that we penned a post for Cost of Living entitled “We need to talk about Jeremy”. Way back then we were blissfully unaware of the possibilities of Brexit or Trump. Our major concern was...
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Digital health divides
Potential health gains from the digital health revolution have been widely heralded if yet to be fully realised. But who are likely to be the biggest winners and losers of this revolution? In this blog, I suggest that to harness...
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Medical Cannabis and Marijuana
The War on Drugs: A New Era? The high profile case of Billy Caldwell, a 12-year-old boy with life-threatening seizures, has again raised questions about the legal status of marijuana. Billy has a form of epilepsy that causes uncontrollable and...
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Extreme Waxing
The Normalisation of Hair Free Female Bodies Talking to a beautician friend about hair removal and summer beautification regimes led to a discussion about fashions in bikini waxing and hair removal. Interestingly she said she had noticed generational differences in...
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The NHS at 70: For platinum-level care, it’s time for everyone to reaffirm their vows
Describing the care his mother received in an NHS hospital Russell Brand recently wrote, “The NHS is the very best of us, it is a living, breathing, healing mother goddess born of war and sacrifice sustained by love and dedication.”...
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Resuscitating CAMHS: Something has to be done
A few years back I found myself on a first aid course. Tom, the elderly chap teaching us CPR, took a break from resuscitating his unusually antiquated dummy to solemnly address his audience. One of our group had asked what...
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Cancer culture clash?
If we over-stress the need for cancer patients to be courageous fighters, are we running the risk of denying them the chance of a peaceful end to life? Cancer, in its many different forms, is rarely out of the news....
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Disaster news, the media and cultural bias
Rarely a week goes by without a natural disaster hitting the headlines. This month, news coverage has included the eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, flooding in the Turkish city of Ankara, and storms in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in...
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Is it still paranoia if they’re really out to vet you? On Clarivate Analytics