Editors' Blog - All Comments

re: Condom sales rise as recession hits DIY activity

jonathan lalljee — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:22:31 GMT

Just a cautionary note to any brand-loyal Durex users who are saving up to buy themselves a pair of wooden sandals.

Don't use them to walk on any tiles bought from Topps.

The tile ranges are frequently discontinued so, should any break, you won't be able to replace them.

Then you'll be left with an unsightly floor problem, which you'll be too poor to fix - forcing you to seek alternative entertainment.

re: Are modern nurses uncaring and slovenly?

Rose Grant — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:58:44 GMT

The ethos of nursing had definitely changed. Some changes have been for the better, but some not.

Nurses are now expected to be more academically minded, and this is fine if this is why you took up the profession, but for many, they are inundated by paper work, computing etc and this means less actual time spent with the patient.

As for patient care, most of this is done by underpaid undervalued health care assistants, or other such assistants who do the feeding, bathing etc, while nurses are busy specialising and trying to compete with the medical profession.

The caring profession is not very compassioante, and in extreme cases, we have seen them turn into killers.

The constant need for more qualifications so you can advance up the pay scale is something which enables nurses to care less about patients, and more about the latest course.

It is very sad indeed, but hey, that's what change is all about. I am glad I am not nursing these days, because it would make me very unhappy to spend more time on paper work, than with patients

re: Are modern nurses uncaring and slovenly?

Steve Hards — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:38:36 GMT

I doubt that community nurses have this reputation, so what is it in the hospital culture that breeds such impressions?

Leaving aside the 'No Angels' series on TV which, whilst highly entertaining, helped contribute to this impression, the real rot surely set in when hospitals became dominated by doctors rather than nurses. What I mean is that there was a point, probably a long time ago, when hospitals changed from being places where you went to be nursed (= nourished and cared for) to where you went to be cured.

Condom sales rise as recession hits DIY activity

Editors' Blog — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:55:48 GMT

The recession might be curtailing our lifestyles in many ways but it seems that sexual activity is on

re: Saucy Santa and a bit too much Christmas spirit

Colin Cooper — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:53:08 GMT

The flip flop idea reminds me of the lollipop initiative in a wrexham nightclub...news.bbc.co.uk/.../3580102.stm

re: Make love not war - but don't call me 'dearie'

Enid Neil — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:30:54 GMT

I think it is the way it is used that is important. If it is used with respect and as a local way of speaking then it is acceptable. I use the word love quite a lot from the time I spent in Liverpool in the sixties. It has stayed with me and as I come from the west country It acts as a local way of talking, although I wouldn't dream of say ok me luvver, LOL. Lets keep respect and how we speak to the patient will be taken in the spirit it is given.

re: Should nurse practitioners replace GPs?

mandy coulbeck — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:54:12 GMT

I think nurse practitioner should partner gps recognising that team work and skills from both art and sciences need to come together as one in order to bring the NHS into the year 2008

re: Another assault on patient confidentiality

jonathan lalljee — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:41:36 GMT

This is disgraceful and makes irksome reading for GPs and all other professionals who have jumped through expensive and time-consuming hoops to ensure that patient/client details remain confidential.<p>

However, after his <A HREF="www.timesonline.co.uk/.../A> that the government could not guarantee the safety of any data because of something called 'human error', Mr Brown has clearly decided it's not worth trying and that he may aswell make some money from selling our personal, private business. <p>

Is the prime minister human? Probably not - that thing he does with his mouth instead of breathing is not of this earth - so he's unlikely to be subject to human error. He is living proof that hubris is transmissible across species and should be a notifiable condition.

Another assualt on patient confidentiality

Editors' Blog — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:09:26 GMT

Not content with nationalising the banks, Gordon Brown is looking to take control of our most intimate

re: Big fat gimmick or genuine innovation?

graham edlin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:57:39 GMT

Withdraw heavily subsidised bus services or restrict their use by fit youngsters travelling free in london,more exercise and less pointless expenditure

re: Were we right not to publish Dr Muhammad Siddiq's homophobic letter?

Colin Cooper — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:59:44 GMT

I also wonder (as a staff member at GP) whether we should have passed on the letter to the GMC ourselves?

re: Equity is already a myth

carole Knight — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:59:51 GMT

Yep, mixed system in Australia, and here, it was because the health funds were in bed with the politicians, here, if you belong to a health fund, you face a 'gap' payment, and are aparently more often out of pocket than if you were just on medicare.

re: How do we know when a minister is too sick for power?

Colin Cooper — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:28:33 GMT

It's november 5 and we have the younger man preparing to become the next president. It's definitely put a smile on my face. And looking at it in purely medical terms, we won't have the health problems of the over-70s to worry about - though youth brings its own concerns. See JFK and Bill Clinton!

re: How do we know when a minister is too sick for power?

jonathan lalljee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:49:45 GMT

A very pertinent issue, given the age of one of the prospective presidents, and the toll on his health of a gruelling election campaign. John McCain has been looking terrible recently - he looks like he'd struggle to survive a victory party, let alone a recession-ridden spell in the White House.

Despite Arnie Schwarzenegger's insistence that McCain looks robust, a man of his age could anticipate health problems sooner rather than later, and he'd almost certainly have to keep quiet about them. The White House might be reduced to north-korean tactics such as releasing three-year-old pictures showing him in rude health.

And should anything critical befall him, we'd all suddenly experience shortness of breath and syncope if his vice-president took over...

re: When toothache becomes a headache for health professionals

carole Knight — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:11:39 GMT

As a former dental nurse who struggled to become a dental hygienist, 132 applications and counting, I know that the cause is dentistry is hard to enter, double the number of dental places, and if you take a place you must sign a legally binding contract to work for the NHS for 10 years. Oh, yes, and restrict dental hygiene courses to dental nurses, too many 'failed to get into dentistry' students are stealing our career prospects, never intending to be hygienists, just to get into post graduate dental courses. The BDA is too powerful.