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Opinion - Page 9

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When normal tests end care too early

Medicine is remarkably effective at identifying disease. Yet when symptoms persist without a clear diagnosis, it often falters—not because knowledge is lacking, but because legitimacy quietly evaporates.
13 January 2026
3 mins read
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At the National Theatre: Nye

I found this an inspiring, uplifting play about one of my heroes – the Welsh firebrand and father of the NHS, Aneurin “Nye” Bevan – vividly brought to life by another Welsh hero, the actor Michael Sheen.
21 March 2024
2 mins read
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The emergence of ‘surrogate uncertainty’

The clinician who has seen the patient has now “off-loaded” their uncertainty on to the broad shoulders of the GP who has to now carry this “surrogate uncertainty” along with all their other worries for the day. It is true that GPs
13 March 2024
2 mins read
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The real Doc Martin

Notwithstanding the corny connection to a fictional character, and the 'old school' approach to confidentiality, this is a charming and authentic memoir. An anecdote is by definition an unpublished story - and Martin Stagg has converted his anecdotes into 'ecdotes.'
9 March 2024
3 mins read
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Belly Woman by Benjamin Black

You may recognise the frustration and anger that surface when resources run short; fractures in infrastructure become apparent; staff are scarce, undertrained and approaching burnout; protocols written by distant bureaucrats fail to reflect the realities you are seeing on the front line;
8 March 2024
4 mins read
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Yonder: Farewell

"I remain fascinated by, and grateful for, the excellent research that sheds light on all aspects of our work and the lives of our patients. As I hang up my pen, I take this opportunity to tip my hat to all those
28 February 2024
2 mins read
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Believing our own tinctures

...cognitive bias sustained public faith in the medical profession long before doctors had the tools to truly alter the course of an illness. These forces did not disappear the moment that working therapeutics arrived - meaning we remain enthralled by own salves
24 February 2024
2 mins read
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Wherefore Art Thou?

‘Wherefore’, meaning ‘For what reason’, is one of the most fundamental questions we must ask in medicine. Tasneem Khan applies this idea to trauma-informed care.
21 February 2024
3 mins read
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Is hospital the only choice?

For the record, plenty of elderly patients have excellent lifesaving care, are well looked after, and speak highly of the exemplary care and attention they had in hospital. However, hospital isn’t always the best place for them. Let me explain why I
7 February 2024
5 mins read
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Looking in and looking out

Throughout medical history, there has been a tension between systems that locate health within the patient and those that have it outside. Ben Hoban finds the determinants of health and illness by looking in and by looking out.
31 January 2024
4 mins read
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Caritas in a cold climate

This issue’s life and times articles describe the failure of society and policymakers to value general practice. To value is to understand and appreciate both the beauty and appropriate uses of a thing. It also has a sense of quantitate weighing -
26 January 2024
5 mins read

Extended roles and special interests

It’s worth examining the reasons in the health system for supporting special interests. Are we playing Jenga with the health system, continually removing building blocks to replace obvious deficiencies in a rickety structure? Or are we enhancing the generalist, patient-centred care that
23 January 2024
2 mins read
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