Good News about the 'Duty of Candour'

You may remember I wrote last month about Will Powell and others campaigning for a Duty of Candour (Robbie's Law) with the aim of reducing medical errors and associated cover-ups. Some of you may have signed the petition for which I gave a link. - I am delighted to report a good outcome to this long campaign:

AvMA PRESS RELEASE For immediate release
GOVERNMENT APPLAUDED FOR INTRODUCING A "DUTY OF CANDOUR"

In its response to the NHS Future Forum report published today, the Government has finally committed itself to a Duty of Candour in healthcare - an enforceable duty to be open and honest with patients or their families when things go wrong. Although the detail of how the new duty will work is not yet known, it is described as a new contractual duty on healthcare providers. Additionally, the Government has said that it will give legal force to patients' rights in the NHS Constitution, which also covers being honest about mistakes.

Peter Walsh, Chief Executive of AvMA, said:
"This is great news - potentially the biggest breakthrough in patients' rights and patient safety since the creation of the NHS. The devil will be in the detail. The duty must be clearly set out in statute and organisations who fail to comply must be held to account. But we are extremely grateful to the Government for having listened. This new duty should be known as "Robbie's Law" in honour of Robbie Powell, the young boy who became the symbol of our campaign and whose family have done more than anyone to raise awareness for the need for change".

Blackdog has written more fully about this.

Choosing to die: presented by Terry Pratchett on BBC2

Choosing to die: This TV programme shown yesterday and presented by Sir Terry Pratchett was a sensitive and timely consideration of assisted suicide. It had special poignancy because of Sir Terry's own condition of early Alzheimer's Disease. The programme concentrated on giving an airing to the reasons why two men, unrelated except that they were suffering, each chose to go to Dignitas, in Zurich, to have paid-for assistance to die before their suffering became too great to bear. Peter Smedley had Motor Neurone Disease, an incurable and progressive condition. The other, Andrew Colgan, had Multiple Sclerosis, also incurable and progressive. The hour-long programme is available on iPlayer for another 6 days.

Sir Terry travelled to Zurich, and he and we, the viewers, were privileged to watch Mr Smedley's death, with his loving and beloved wife of forty years by his side, and it certainly looked to me a kindly death compared with the alternative of long-drawn-out suffering.

I have been dismayed and shocked, though not surprised, at the volume of criticism the programme has attracted. As ever, there are people who wilfully conflate the personal choice of death in order to put an end to pain/indignity/suffering and the decision by someone else that another person should die. A 'slippery slope' is always envisaged that must be guarded against, however much agony that causes the people who have to bear the unbearable. I was personally incensed by the former Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, saying on Radio 4 this morning that pain can always be controlled. - This is completely untrue and it is disgraceful that such untruths are perpetuated by Christians and others, especially doctors. It is all too easy for some to bear another's pain/trivialise it/offer simplistic solutions that do not work. "He jests at scars that never felt a wound."

New Study suggests Sunshine may help prevent Multiple Sclerosis

A new study in Australia suggests that obtaining Vitamin D through sun exposure may help prevent the onset of multiple sclerosis as well as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer.
Read article on the Daily Nexus website (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)

Well done, BBC London!

Well done, BBC London! - I applaud the investigative journalism I read of in this BBC News item. "A government minister has called on the chief executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) to resign for "covering up" failings in the Baby Peter case. Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone accuses the hospital of withholding crucial information about the children's clinic where its locum doctor examined the toddler two days before he died.

It follows an investigation by BBC London which reveals the hospital failed to pass on to an official inquiry findings of a report into St Ann's clinic in Haringey, including the fact its senior doctor viewed it as "clinically risky". Home Office minister Ms Featherstone has said the government should investigate and called for Dr Jane Collins to step down. She said: "I'm disgusted. I cannot believe that anyone, let alone people in these very trusted positions, would hold back, withhold, doctor, cover-up information.""

It's a good job we have the BBC doing investigations - Panorama with its recent exposé of cruel maltreatment of vulnerable young adults in a privately-run hospital, and now this BBC London exposé of cover-up and dissembling by senior personnel at the children's hospital that served baby Peter Connelly so appallingly. Without the outside investigation by the BBC, the all-too-usual lesson would have been learnt, i.e. Make sure no one finds out the truth...)o:

Want to know more about infectious diseases? I recommend Melvyn Bragg's Radio 4 programme

I recommend Melvyn Bragg's Radio 4 programme "In Our Time" which I heard yesterday. Lord Bragg assembled experts: Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London, Sir Roy Anderson, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London and Mark Pallen, Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of Birmingham and led a fascinating and informative discussion on the origins, history and survival mechanisms of the microbes/bacteria/viruses, etc. that sometimes afflict us with infections. There is an iPlayer facility on the webpage to listen to the programme.

And if you would like to reduce your own risk of succumbing to respiratory diseases, I recommend Dr Briffa's recent article about Vitamin D.

Harmful antipsychotic drugs are still being wrongly prescribed to dementia sufferers

BBC News reports that harmful antipsychotic drugs are still being widely and inappropriately prescribed to elderly dementia sufferers. "More than 50 health and social care organisations are calling for fresh action to cut the prescription of "chemical cosh" drugs. Around 180,000 people with dementia are thought to be prescribed antipsychotic drugs in the UK. But 80% of those prescriptions are said by critics to be inappropriate. Long-term use of the drugs can make dementia symptoms worse, reduce the ability to talk and walk and increase the risk of stroke and even death."

Average Drug Label lists 70 potential side-effects!

MSNBC.com reports that the average Drug Label lists 70 potential side-effects/drug reactions! - “The greatest number of side effects was found in antidepressants, antiviral medications and newer treatments for restless leg syndrome and Parkinson's disease. In general, medications typically used by psychiatrists and neurologists had the most complex labels, while drugs used by dermatologists and ophthalmologists had the least.” Read what Dr Mercola has to say about this report.

And Dr Mercola tells us that "according to the latest statistics from the Kaiser Health Foundation, the average American aged 19 to 64 now takes more than 11 prescription drugs!" - And all of them have their side-effects! And side-effects are potentiated when more than one drug is being taken! - No wonder that prescription drugs occasion many thousands of visits to emergency services and are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States!

Clearly this is a deplorable state of affairs. On my own website, more people visit with concerns about amitriptyline and other antidepressants, than about any other drug or family of drugs. And since antidepressants work no better than dummy pills and have lots of undesirable side-effects, most commonly weight gain/fluid retention/sodium retention, the massive prescribing of these particular harmful prescription drugs could and should be stopped ASAP, with great benefit to health and massive saving of money.

The Woman on the Bus was crying

The woman on the bus, years ago, was crying. I sat down beside her; it was the only vacant seat left. - "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why I'm crying. I'm not sad." - "My guess is you're not getting much sleep." - "You're right. How did you know?" she asked. - "Lack of sleep is the main reason people find themselves crying," I said. "They can't help it. It's a physical thing, not emotional. Don't let them tell you you're depressed."

A bit of good news about Calpol, the version of paracetamol that is, unfortunately, given to children.

A bit of good news about Calpol, the version of paracetamol that is, unfortunately, given to children. - See BBC News report. - The bit of good news is that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says there will be more specific dosing instructions for this product, with narrowed age brackets. This will probably reduce some of the dangerous and damaging over-prescribing of paracetamol to toddlers that has been going on.

"Dr June Raine, the MHRA's director of vigilance and risk management of medicines, insisted the change was not because of safety concerns.

"The change is to ensure children get the most optimal dose of paracetamol suitable for their age.

"This updated dosing advice will clarify the doses, making it easier for parents and carers to know exactly how much paracetamol they should give their children.""

I'm sorry, Dr Raine, that you " insisted the change was not because of safety concerns". - It damn well ought to have been for safety concerns! I regard giving painkillers to little children as harmful, risk-laden folly.

Apart from the very real and present physical harm that can result, the practice of medicating every little pain and symptom in a child's life can produce an adult who will carry on the habit, looking for health and well-being in pills and potions, instead of in good food, good nutrition, good friends, fresh air, exercise and all the other good, drug-free benisons you, Dear Reader, would yourself list.

Here's an excellent article that gives information about the harmful ingredients that are added to Calpol as well as the paracetamol itself. And here's another such article.

Do you think a Burglars' Protection Society would be a good idea?

Do you think a Burglars' Protection Society would be a good idea? - I'll explain what I mean: a Burglars' Protection Society would offer insurance to burglars so that if they got arrested for burgling, the insurance would pay the legal fees for their defence, enabling them to have top, highly-paid lawyers working for them, particularly skilled and experienced in all the ins and outs of winning such cases. And there would be inhouse salaried lawyers constantly on hand for legal advice. As well as this, the insurance would also cover any fine the Court imposed and would cover any damages awarded to the burglars' victims in a civil court action. The burglars would pay a yearly subscription of course.

Well I'm pretty confident that you can see many flaws in the idea of a Burglars' Protection Society and that you find the very idea ridiculous, and I'd agree with you about this. - But stay with me for a while because I have been setting up an analogy to put before you. - I suggest there are parallels to be drawn between the hypothetical Burglars' Protection Society and the actual medical protection societies that offer legal protection to physicians and surgeons.

Doctors pay subscriptions to their various Medical Protection Societies and in return receive ongoing top notch legal advice, and in the event of being sued in a civil action for professional negligence or arrested for criminal negligence and appearing in a criminal court, they have the very sharpest, most experienced defence lawyers money can buy. In the distinctly rare instances in which the court has the courage to find them guilty and fines them an amount of money or orders them to pay damages/compensation to their victim/s, this money too would come out of their insurance.

Now the main reason you and I find the idea of a Burglars' Protection Society ridiculous is that it would obviously result in many more burglaries, many more innocent citizens suffering loss and damage to their possessions and damage to their mental, emotional and financial well-being (and sometimes their physical well-being too), because with the insurance paying the burglars' penalties, there is less deterrent to burgling. - I invite you to see the same flaw with medical protection societies' insurance, i.e. when the doctor is found guilty, the monetary fine or the damages/compensation comes out of the well-filled coffers of the insurance company, and not out of the pocket or bank account of the negligent doctor. - So there is very little to deter doctors from being negligent. - Indeed there is so little to deter medical negligence that it is constantly on the increase.

Whoever thought up the nifty idea of medics insuring themselves against any effective deterrents to incompetence or negligence, you can be sure it wasn't a patient! The insurance is, I believe, 'justified' by explaining that it is in order to guarantee that the victims will receive any damages the courts may decide upon, but, as people who use their brains, you and I both know that this is not the case, don't we? - And wouldn't we all rather reduce the chance of being harmed by doctors' incompetence/negligence/malpractice than increase the chance of being awarded some money if and when we do indeed get harmed by them?

Also note that while the worst effect a guilty verdict would have on a doctor's wallet might be an increase in insurance premiums, by contrast, the doctor's victims are soon to be denied any scrap of legal aid (as well as no help from the Complaints Procedures).

Ugandan farmers reject GM seed

Farmers have strongly rejected the use of genetically modified (GM) seeds in Uganda, saying that their introduction is detrimental to the indigenous seed.
Read article in the Daily Monitor (Uganda)

Panorama: the shocking abuse of patients with autism and learning difficulties

Panorama: most people in the UK will have learned of and been horrified by the scandalous and criminal abuse of young patients in a British 'hospital' that purported to be a suitable residence for the care of these patients, some autistic, some with learning difficulties. In fact, it was for them effectively a locked prison in which they were physically and mentally abused by some of the 'carers'/gaolers, led by a bully who took pleasure in taunting and assaulting them. Most people in this country are aware of widespread, inhuman treatment of elderly patients in some hospitals and care homes, but the special extra horror that Panorama has revealed to us this week is this secret abuse of young, vulnerable patients.

But for Panorama's investigative journalist embedded in the hospital/prison and his video record of the assaults, the chilling probability is that those young victims would have spent the rest of their lives being tortured by warped 'carers' such as were seen in the programme last Monday. Because the shameful accompanying facts of the matter are that the abuse was repeatedly reported to the Care Quality Commission by a whistle-blower who had formerly worked at the hospital, but his evidence was ignored. - Ignored! - The poor victims have no voice themselves because tragically their complaints are routinely and automatically discounted as it is assumed that what they say cannot be relied on to be true.

Panorama has saved them from the continuance of great and unnecessary suffering: Panorama - not the managers of the hospital, not the CEO of the parent company, not - Perish the thought! - the indolent, unconcerned and negligent apology for a regulatory body, the Care Quality Commission! - And herein, in my opinion, is the most scary fact of all: that the highly-paid regulators were as useless to these tortured young people as a chocolate teapot...