This article was originally published in the New Statesman magazine on the 15th August. An online version can be found here. If doctors discovered you had a 30 per cent chance of developing colon cancer, would you want to know? What if that probability was only 10 per cent, or perhaps as high as 50?…
NHS drugs, Aristotle and health economics: the problem of quantifying life
This article was originally published in the New Statesman, and can be found here. On Friday it was announced that abiraterone, a new prostate cancer drug, will not be made routinely available to NHS patients before receiving chemotherapy. The decision has been criticised by patient groups and scientists alike – a statement from the Institute of…
Being gay might not be “natural” – let’s stop arguing otherwise
This article was originally published on the New Statesman website, and can be found here. Anyone who respects personal freedom and equality will surely be impressed by the gay rights movement. Recent years have brought much to celebrate; the introduction of same-sex marriage legislation, improvements in public attitudes towards homosexuality within the UK, and gay pride…
The UK government must reform its treatment of asylum seekers
This article was originally published in the New Statesman, and can be found here. Theresa May has an important decision to make before Saturday. Having lost a High Court ruling which determined that the Home Office was “irrational” to freeze asylum support for three consecutive years, the Home Secretary was ordered to review government policy….
The UK’s mental health care is in crisis – the next government must act urgently
This article was originally published in the New Statesman, and can be found here. A report this week was grim reading for those involved in mental health care. The survey of GPs revealed that one in five had seen patients harmed as a result of “delays or a lack of support” from mental health services, while…
Ebola panic reveals the balancing act between patient freedom and social safety
This article was originally published in New Statesman, and can be found here. News of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has received worldwide press attention. The epidemic has caused more deaths than any other recorded Ebola outbreak, and has claimed 672 lives since February. Governments have good reason to be concerned; the Ebola virus has a mortality rate…
Alternative medicine could work – but that’s not reason to embrace it
This article was originally published in New Statesman, and can be found here. David Tredinnick MP, a member of both the science and technology select committee and the health select committee, made headlines last week for suggesting that astrology should be incorporated into medicine. This isn’t the first time the member for Bosworth has caused…
Yet another unfounded attack on the NHS by the right-wing press
This article was originally published on the political blog Left Foot Forward. The headline ’15 babies poisoned by NHS drips’ dominates the front page of the Daily Telegraph today. The article reveals that contaminated IV drips have caused septicaemia in 15 patients, including the tragic death of a newborn baby. Every reader will feel great…
Structural inequality, not immigration, is the UK’s problem
This article was originally published in the political blog Left Foot Forward. In light of the European election results, it is clear that UKIP’s rhetoric has resonated among the UK public. With more MEPs than any other party and over 27 per cent of the vote, fear about immigration and the harmful effects of EU membership…
Being called a “fundamentalist secularist” is an insult I would welcome
This article was originally published in the political blog Left Foot Forward and republished in the National Secular Society blog. Last week, Baroness Warsi, Minister for State and Communities, described Richard Dawkins as a “secular fundamentalist”. This is just the most recent of attacks on what has been described as “militant secularists” and “secularist propaganda“ in the media, levelled…
Profit-driven pharmaceuticals are causing more harm than good
This article was originally published on the political blog Left Foot Forward. “We did not develop this medicine for Indians. We developed it for western patients who can afford it” declared Marjin Dekkers, CEO of Bayer, one of the companies we rely on to produce the world’s pharmaceuticals. The drug in question is a potentially life-saving cancer…
The government must take responsibility on UK food poverty
This article was originally published on the political blog Left Foot Forward. Many were shocked to hear that a Yorkshire school has started collecting for a food bank after discovering that a pupil hadn’t eaten for an entire weekend. Yet food poverty is becoming increasingly common in the UK, and it’s time that the government…
GEORGE GILLETT 