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Opinion

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Dr Valdez is coming

‘Morning, friend. How do you like our new médico? He only got one kind of medicine, but he ain’t too proud to take it himself, a real man of the people.’ Henry nodded cheerfully at the young man, then looked more seriously
11 August 2026
8 mins read

When patients disappear between systems

When patients are deducted following boundary changes or service reorganisation, who confirms continuity has been successfully re-established elsewhere? Are current systems sufficiently equipped to identify patients who fail to reconnect with care following deduction from a practice list?
10 August 2026
3 mins read
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When good doctors fail exams

One lesson many trainees learn too late is that medicine cannot be our entire identity ... Because when our entire identity depends on our performance, every setback becomes a crisis.
6 August 2026
4 mins read
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Overheard at a possible future cafe

Ursula le Guin wrote a book called Changing planes in which the mind-altering properties of airports enable bored passengers to travel to other planes of existence, but independent coffee places work well for me.
5 August 2026
6 mins read
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So much universe, and so little time

I am frequently dismayed to hear that reading in general is another activity that is being put off until retirement, along with painting, or dancing, or learning about medical ethics. Well. This month we bring the universe to you.
31 July 2026
4 mins read

Healthcare at street level

Our job is certainly clinical, although in terms of the skills that make it distinctive, it perhaps resembles more those of teachers, social workers, and police officers than others in healthcare.
20 July 2026
4 mins read
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Medical tourism: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Medical tourism doesn’t reduce NHS workload. It splits it. The funded, planned, well-resourced part of care happens elsewhere. The complications, the uncertainty, the chronic follow-up land back in general practice. Without warning. Without resource. And without anyone having agreed to it.
9 July 2026
4 mins read
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A Thorny Issue

Despite John Fry's adage that says common diseases are most frequent, I encountered many rare conditions during my thirty years of practice. This medical rarity just happened to involve my daughter’s foot and occurred after I retired.
3 July 2026
2 mins read

Correct, but not reassuring

A few days later, I was told that the tax had been paid ...Problem solved... Then another letter arrived. A timely reflection on reassurance.
27 June 2026
3 mins read
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In desperate need of idleness

Idleness encompasses all the things that enable us to flourish as individuals and as a society but get shunted into our own time (what’s left of it). Healthcare workers need time to think, to read, to recover.
26 June 2026
4 mins read
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Cancer as a form of sociology edgework

Edgework is a concept that describes situations where people exist close to the edge between life and death, safety and danger and must use significant skill to navigate their way across, and survive, this edge. It helps us see the patient as
25 June 2026
3 mins read
4

Making sense together after algorithms

Imagine a man in his 30s presenting with palpitations. Before attending, he has used a symptom checker, reviewed his smartwatch data, and read discussions online. He arrives with a list of possibilities — anxious but also informed.
22 June 2026
3 mins read
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