As reported by the BBC, the Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust are providing MP3-based first aid advice on how to deal with common and potentially serious situations (such as fits, collapses and resuscitation). This joins first aid advice available as a podcast on the iTunes Music Store by St. John's Ambulance.
Continue reading '999 advice on your iPod'
Tag archive for 'medicine'
Our secret's out. As we write this—looking out the window at a bleak English sky as the drizzle washes away the dregs of yesterday's snowfall—it's easy to get excited about travelling abroad. One thing about holidays is that the experience of change is refreshing, albeit all too brief: you spend the first half of a two-week interlude winding down, and the second half winding up again! We'd like to introduce Project Koru—a change on a much grander scale than our usual breaks afford.
I finally got around to renting Super Size Me, an amateur documentary about the impact of McDonald's on the waistline and health of America. You should see it too.
Continue reading 'USA: United Supersized America'
Over a decade ago in New Zealand I had the privilege of working with a Scottish physician by the name of Richard Rankin. I learned much from him, and find myself repeating three of his sayings in my own practice...
Continue reading 'Rankinisms'
The New General Medical Services Contract (nGMS) for NHS general practitioners changes the way GPs are remunerated. Under the contract GPs are paid performance-related income according to a Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)—essentially a list of clinical and other standards associated with points (income) for achieving certain target thresholds. One of the informatics challenges of nGMS is therefore the recording of activity in a consistent and efficient manner.
Continue reading 'QOF checklist and Read Codes'
There's a debate going on at the moment about banning smoking in public places. The evidence for the harmful effects of smoking (actively or "passively") appears to be irrefutable and the case for implementing a ban seems watertight—so why are we having a debate?
Continue reading 'Smoking in public places'
