Manoj Krishna

A FRIEND told me today that as he was driving he heard an advert on the radio. It was asking patients if they had had an operation and if they were disappointed.

THE round of party conferences has just concluded. All the political parties realise it is a big vote winner, or loser. Each party claims it will “save the NHS”.

MY SON is off to university this week and I was reflecting on the huge culture of drinking alcohol that seems to pervade university life. They say it is a social lubricant but I often wonder why we need to dull our senses and our brain in order to enjoy ourselves.

In my 18 years of practise, I’ve come across many remarkable patients who have battled adversity and come out on top – but perhaps none more so than Carolyn, who has given me permission to share her story with you.

NICE, or the National Institute of Clinical Excellence is studying the issue of minimum staffing levels of nurses and doctors on our wards and is shortly to publish its report.

LAST month there was conflicting news on screening for breast screening. Women between 52 to 70 are eligible, but nationally only 76 per cent of women take up the offer to get mammograms done every three years. Treating cancer early is the key to success.

We all associate hospitals as places where we go for treatment to get better. It is then surprising to note in recently published data from Scotland that one in 10 people die in hospital and one in 3 people die within a year of their admission to hospital.

I was astonished to read that 96 doctors in the UK have died while being investigated by the General Medical Council since 2004. I would suggest at least some of these were suicides, highlighting the huge stress doctors now face.

This week the National Audit Office cast doubt on the reliability of NHS waiting time targets. The data may be unreliable because they are collected and reported by the same organisations which face a penalty for not meeting those targets.