HIV in Africa – a Guest blog by Simon Collery

 HIV and AIDs, Medical Regulations and Politics
Dec 082011
 

Francois Venter makes a number of interesting comments in his article in the Cape Times, which starts by criticizing Helen Zille for her recent public outburst about criminalizing ‘unsafe’ sexual behavior, which only served to show how little she knows about HIV, health, sex and the law (and how much she knows about pseudo-morality, petty politics and mainstream media). But Venter goes a lot further, taking on the mantra that has launched a thousand careers: HIV is spread through promiscuity.

Venter recognizes something that UNAIDS and the HIV industry have yet to understand, that Africans are people. Shocking as that may sound, even HIV positive Africans are people. They are not sex machines, engaging in levels of coital activity that would leave little time or energy for anything else. They have jobs and families and lives that don’t allow for 24/7 sex. Click here for more

Denmark’s Fat Tax – is it a good way of fighting obesity?

 Medical Regulations and Politics, Obesity
Oct 032011
 

On October 1st 2011 Denmark introduced what has been described as a Fat Tax.

This is a tax imposed on foods that are high in saturated fat? This includes batter, milk and many processed foods.

There have been calls for other countries for following Denmark’s example. The UK’s Guardian newspaper quoted National Obesity Forum’s Tam Fry as saying “It is not a question of whether we should follow the Danes’ lead – we have to. If we don’t do anything about it, by 2050, 70% of the British population will be obese or overweight and that would result not only in the downfall of the NHS but also of our national workforce.” Click here for more

‘Keep Our NHS Public’ – Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill – Is this the beginning of Privitisation of the National Health Service?

 Medical Regulations and Politics
Sep 152011
 

Andrew Lansley’s Health and Social Care Bill promises the biggest shake up ever seen in the NHS.
The Bill, at over four hundred pages, is even larger than the legislation that set up the NHS over sixty three years ago.

What does the Bill, if it becomes law, hold for patients and the public? The view of most healthcare professionals is- not very much. The NHS Consultants Association, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, and the two major hospital unions, Unison and Unite, have all given the Bill a massive thumbs down.

What motivates this fear of Lansley’s reforms amongst informed medical opinion? Click here for more

News flash -Britain approves a new drug for heat attack treatments.

 Medical Regulations and Politics
Aug 012011
 

NICE approve “more effective” and less expensive drug for treatment of Heart Attacks
PCT’s directed by National Institute of Clinical Excellence to use new drug in place of current gold standard for Heart Attack patients – saving lives and the NHS £9.5 million per year.

As of 27th July 2011, the heart drug Angiox (bivalirudin) will be recommended, by NICE, to all PCT’s (Primary Care Trust’s) for the ‘treatment of adults with heart attacks (STEMI; ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction)’ undergoing emergency lifesaving procedures to unblock their coronary arteries (primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; PCI). Click here for more

Fairness In Healthcare Commissioning

 Medical Regulations and Politics
Jul 052011
 

For many people in the UK,the National Health Service is the embodiment of fairness. Treatment where and when you need it,free at the point of use – what could be fairer? And most of us think we know what we mean by fairness – surely it’s self evident what is fair and what isn’t. Isn’t it?

The NHS,like any health system,is presented with many needs competing for their share of finite resources. Commissioners who decide on priorities and how services should be delivered,are faced with difficult choices. Which clinical areas should they invest in – cancer,mental health,respiratory or something else? Should they prioritise investment in deprived areas with poor health or spread provision evenly? What is fair?! Click here for more

Independence, Demographics, and Medicine: the future of care in Scotland

 Medical Regulations and Politics
May 132011
 

Let me take you forward in time a few years. Five, ten…who knows, exactly? But there’s been a referendum, and Scotland is now independent from the United Kingdom of Bugger Off Scotland (or whatever it’s going to call itself. A Royal Commission on the subject has been set up, and is expected to report in 5 years).

As a proud Scot, currently exiled in not-so-leafy London suburbia, I head north, back to the future, in my wheelchair-accessible De Lorean. What support can I expect as a disabled resident of newly independent Scotland? And how long can that support realistically last? Click here for more

Medical Tourism

 Medical Regulations and Politics, Medical Research and Upcoming Treatment Options
Mar 012011
 

According to The Daily Telegraph (UK), 2.65 million people in the UK have or are considering going abroad for medical treatment. This has often been put down to long waiting lists on the UK’s National Health Service, staggering costs if looking at private healthcare options and now to the spending cuts hitting the NHS. Click here for more

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