Blog
From Certificates to Belief Statements: The CPS and the Limits of Forum Bar Intervention
Rebecca Niblock
3 June 2015
Consulting Dr Google - A Friend or Foe?
In this increasingly tech-savvy age, it has become common to “google” one’s symptoms. For many of us, consulting the virtual Dr Google has become the first port of call for medical information. A recent Australian study by the Queensland University of Technology titled ‘'Dr. Google' doesn't know best: Search engine self-diagnosis and 'cyberchondria', has shown that 5% of all monthly Google searches are now health related; this equates to approximately five billion monthly searches.
2 June 2015
Spinal injury – why the 2007 Rehabilitation Code must change
As a claimant clinical negligence solicitor I see first-hand the impact a spinal injury can have on an individual’s life. Coming to terms with such a life changing event is difficult and not made any easier by the state’s inability to provide immediate and on-going rehabilitation.
21 May 2015
Children unlawfully killed in Corfu hotel - should Thomas Cook be compensated?
Last week a Coroner’s Inquest ruled that the children of Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood had been unlawfully killed whilst on a 2006 holiday in a Thomas Cook hotel in Corfu, and that Thomas Cook had breached its duty of care towards the family. Christi, 7 and Bobby, 6 died from carbon monoxide poisoning that leaked into their bungalow from a faulty boiler. Their father and his second wife were also hospitalised.
20 May 2015
Treating with dignity
No-one could fail to be moved by the accounts given in “Dying Without Dignity” the report on the end of life care just published by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It is a sad reflection of the very patchy nature of the NHS. In some cases, it seems, end of life care epitomises the dehumanisation of health care. The emphasis on process rather than compassion is very clear from the case studies. In one of them, Mrs N is quoted and her complaint is familiar.
20 May 2015
"Choosing Wisely" - better outcomes for patients and doctors
The British Medical Journal and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges have announced a major initiative “Choosing Wisely” aimed at stopping unnecessary tests and treatments. This is to counter a perceived pressure on the medical profession to “do something” at each consultation. There have been calls for medicines for mild raised blood pressure, anti-depressants for mild depression and unnecessary blood tests to be looked at carefully. The Academy is also urging patients to ask their doctors whether there are simpler, safer options. Professor Dame Sue Bailey is the Chair of the Academy of Royal Colleges and is leading this call to arms.