Author: TheEditor

 

Posted by: | on July 22, 2023

Sitting in the lap of Big Pharma

Following a recent BBC documentary on antidepressants(2023), I was set on a path of deeper inquiry about psychotropic medications and the relationship of Big Pharma to psychiatrists as a group. Then my colleague S.D. got me reading: The Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. I was driven to do some digging about Big Pharma’s ‘offences’ in general and then sieved the list down to psychotropic medications. Note our disclaimers. This information is gathered from the publicRead More …

July 22, 2023 , , , , , , , , , Investigative, Medicine, Mental Health Comments Off on Sitting in the lap of Big Pharma

Posted by: | on July 16, 2023

Implications of the Dunning-Kruger effect

Through much experience over the last 30 years, I came to realise two important things: a) at times I made mistakes in exceeding my knowledge and competence b) in recent years I’ve seen others doing the same. The big problem is that one does not have an idea when one is stepping into territory that exceeds one’s competence. It’s like a novice swimmer not appreciating the dangers of swimming into a wide open ocean. After all, one cannot know whatRead More …

July 16, 2023 , , , Expertise, Management Comments Off on Implications of the Dunning-Kruger effect

Posted by: | on July 15, 2023

Change management

Over the last 10 years I’ve visited for work, many public sector health services. Whilst no service is perfect, at each place I found things that were fundamentally wrong. Nearly every senior manager knew about the things that were wrong but they were unable to implement changes. I am referring to things that were known as wrong for years – not just weeks. The topic of change management is not new to me. My reflections led me to dig deeperRead More …

July 15, 2023 , , , , Management Comments Off on Change management

Posted by: | on July 12, 2023

Followership

Not so long ago there were stampedes of people rushing towards ‘leadership’ courses. Leadership Universities were set up. MBAs and other management qualifications were in high demand. All courses emphasised leadership in change management. In many health services a culture was promoted that ‘everybody’ had to lead, though it was never stated like that. The stampede going into and out of courses, led (from my observations) to people in teams all trying to lead. I could see that failing atRead More …

July 12, 2023 , , , Investigative, Management Comments Off on Followership

Posted by: | on July 11, 2023

Materiality

The case of Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 is a landmark decision in the UK law of medical negligence, specifically in relation to the duty of a doctor towards a patient in relation to advice about treatment. It fundamentally altered the legal approach to patient consent and disclosure of risks by healthcare professionals. Materiality explained The concept of materiality was brought to the forefront of UK medical law in Montgomery. The Supreme Court held that a riskRead More …

July 11, 2023 , , , , , Investigative, Law, Rights Comments Off on Materiality