Food first – a new approach to food trauma
We help to run a Food Support charity on the South Coast of England. When we were applying for funding, our fundraiser asked us to give him an estimate of local food insecurity in our town, Worthing. Estimations of food...
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Laurel and Hardy vs the anti-vaxxers and vaccines
“People who spread myths about the harms of vaccines have ‘blood on their hands’”. These words came from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock little more than 18 months ago in an article in which he said that he refused to...
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The psychology of mutual aid
making sense of the public response to coronavirus (and how to sustain it) in an era of entrenched inequality Worthing is a Sussex town on the south coast. In the last few weeks, as Coronavirus has swept through our country,...
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The myth of sudden ‘No-deal’ food shortages
A friend of mine whispered to me the other day that he is stockpiling items of food in advance of the impending ‘no deal’ Brexit food chaos. Indeed a quarter of UK voters have started taking precautions against the adverse...
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Simple Solutions for Complex Needs
Magical thinking and multiple, complex needs in the UK In the UK at present, we appear to have an epidemic of magical thinking about the lives of the unhoused victims of universal credit (UC), the ‘20%’ with multiple and complex...
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Frankie Boyle’s hamster & the NHS long-term plan
Back in what now seems like a curiously quaint era for UK civil democracy, the Scottish Independence referendum was the once-in-a-generation opportunity for a group of people to take back control™ of their own political destiny. Despite what must have...
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Data & the gaming of A&E waiting times
A few days ago I found myself investigating the bed occupancy statistics for an NHS hospital trust. This was in response to a friend telling me that the hospital had found the need to invent a new colour level of...
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What to do about our toxic universities?
“My senior management seems to live in a governance free zone. One in particular who joined with the new VC has developed a reputation for turning disagreements into sacking”. UK University Employee Anyone who takes more than a passing interest...
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Cutting their teeth in government- why the Labour Party will fail on tooth decay