Cameron’s administration has consistently eroded any semblance of a modern work-life balance
Category: Comment
Electives, voluntourism and the ethics of selling poverty
This article was originally published in Student BMJ, a magazine produced by the British Medical Journal for medical students. An online version can be found here. — Big Business With an estimated annual worth of $1.7-2.6 billion (£1.1-1.7 billion), overseas volunteering has become big business, with the term ‘voluntourism’ having been coined to describe the trend. Medical…
The West’s big lie about Mother Teresa
Creating a saint in a secular world.
Medical schools should teach students to combat disease, not terrorism
As a medical student, I was taught to recognise terrorists before learning how to diagnose mental illness
Immigration, the NHS and the ethics of international recruitment
This article was originally published on BMJ blogs, and can be found here. Last February, the UK Home Office announced changes to immigration rules that would mean non-EU nurses would not have their visa applications prioritised. The decision not to add nursing to the list of “shortage occupations” reflects the government’s belief that nursing posts can be…
The approval of ‘female Viagra’ is nothing short of a disaster
This article was originally published in the Spectator, and can be found here. Last week, the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first ever drug targeted to enhance libido in women. Media outlets churned out adoring articles; the licensing of flibanserin, or ‘female Viagra’ as it rapidly became known, was hailed as…
Jeremy Hunt’s seven day NHS proposals will do nothing to improve patient safety
The health secretary’s claims lack evidence and appear to be driven by a thirst for confrontation as much as any genuine concern for patient safety. Yesterday’s announcement that doctors would be forced to work weekends under plans for a ‘seven-day NHS’ ignited furious debate.Directly associating the 6,000 extra hospital deaths recorded during weekends with consultants’ working hours,…
Essay: entry to national competition on Public Health
This post contains my winning entry into a national essay competition co-hosted by the Festival of Public Health UK and Manchester Global Health Society. The competition was judged by four professors of Global Health including Professor Mukesh Kapila and Dr Arpana Verma. The award was presented at the University of Manchester’s 2015 Festival of Public Health UK…
Why you shouldn’t vote tactically in Oxford West & Abingdon
As constituents in Oxford West & Abingdon will know, a keystone of Liberal Democrat candidate Layla Moran’s campaign has been to encourage tactical voting from left-leaning voters in order to form a “coalition of the left”. The argument is based on previous election results which suggest the constituency is a two-horse race between incumbent Conservative MP Nicola Blackwood…
OUSU referendum: Why you should vote ‘No’ to compulsory sub fusc
This article was written for the Oxford Student newspaper after it was announced that the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) were holding a referendum regarding the wearing of sub fusc (academic dress) in exams. The article can be found here, and was quoted in the national press. More information on the referendum can be found here. — State school…
Charlie Hebdo: The Pope’s comments join a media circus at risk of legitimising terrorism
This article was originally published on the blog Left Foot Forward, and can be found here. — Whether it be the Pope or a media commentator, we must avoid capitalising on a terrorist incident to vocalise our opinions of Charlie Hebdo and society’s attitude towards religious belief. Over a week has passed since the Charlie…
Why it’s dishonest to claim that the NHS isn’t being privatised
To hold ideological support for the privatisation is one thing, but to pretend it isn’t happening is a far more insidious lie. Last week on BBC’s Question Time, the panellists were met with yet another question about NHS privatisation. The Times columnist Camilla Cavendish attacked the “misleading” use of the word “privatisation” and immediately asserted…
GEORGE GILLETT 