Rethinking and rebalancing – what does it entail?

Posted on March 28, 2019February 17, 2020 by rethinkingmedicine

Alan Cribb is Professor of Bioethics and Education at King’s College London and co-director of the Centre for Public Policy Research.

The consensus that ‘something needs to change’ among the Rethinking Medicine Working Group (and indeed among the constituencies with which it has engaged) has been remarkable – see ‘Why we are rethinking medicine‘.

Nonetheless, the emerging Rethinking Medicine ‘movement’ has a lot still to do to clarify and communicate the change message and to tackle the ‘how’ of change. This includes understanding sceptical reactions, avoiding getting drawn into simple ‘x=good, y=bad’ dichotomies, and acknowledging the complexities of change while clearly signposting a direction.

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Gambling with patients’ health odds

Posted on March 15, 2019April 30, 2020 by rethinkingmedicine

Dr Shaba Nabi is a GP trainer in Bristol.

I’m writing this blog after screaming at the telly as the Public Health England’s chief executive told us we need to ‘know our numbers’.He meant our cholesterol and blood pressure readings, but other numbers are far more important.

The numbers that people really need to know are their odds of having a heart attack or a stroke – and this is an area where GPs genuinely are best placed. So if the government wants to reduce health spend and improve outcomes, it needs to value the GP consultation more.

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Persuading the public that medicine needs a rethink

Posted on March 11, 2019May 19, 2020 by rethinkingmedicine

Image of Angela Coulter — Angela Coulter

Angela Coulter is a health policy analyst and researcher, with special interests in patient and public involvement.

Did you hear the tragic story publicised by the BBC last week? Gemma Nuttall was diagnosed with ovarian cancer during her pregnancy. She faced an agonising choice of undergoing immediate treatment, with obvious risks to the baby, or delaying this until after the birth. She chose to delay and a few months later gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

But the cancer spread quickly and she was told she had only months to live. Faced with this appalling news, her family launched a desperate search for a cure.

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Prescribing more than just pills

Posted on March 7, 2019February 17, 2020 by rethinkingmedicine

Image of Lucia Lazzereschi — Lucia Lazzereschi

Lucia Lazzereschi is a medical sciences graduate from the University of Exeter, currently in her second year of graduate medicine at Southampton Medical School.

In my first year of university I signed up for a new scheme that was being set up by medical students across the country on social prescribing. I had not come across the term before, but after reading an article by the College of Medicine about it I realised I had to sign up.

Considering I am thinking of becoming a GP when I graduate, the opportunity to spread awareness and teach other people about it seemed like a no-brainer. But what exactly is social prescribing?

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