Medical Journal News

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print.

NHS hospitals are missing opportunities to record people’s wishes for care at the end of life, according to the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD), which highlights the importance of “normalising conversations” about death and dying.Its report found that too few patients had access to early palliative care, which can improve patients’ quality of life and ultimately make a “good death” more likely.1NCEPOD reviewed sample data on the quality of care provided to adults with a diagnosis of dementia, heart failure, lung cancer, or liver disease who died in hospital between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022. The review included data from NHS hospitals in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.Its report, published on 14 November, found that 72.5% of patients did not have their preferences for care at the end of their life recorded.Each year more than 600 000 people die in the UK, and many...

bmj;387/nov15_10/q2523/FAF1faCharles was born in London’s Drury Lane in 1944 and was brought up in a well travelled and artistic family who subsequently moved to Sussex, where he spent much of his childhood.He trained as a physician at Middlesex Hospital where he became the editor of the hospital journal and a prolific writer for the much loved Middlesex Christmas concert. After a variety of posts he spent six years as medical director of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Bermuda. It was on a brief trip home that he met Carolyn and so began a trans-Atlantic romance resulting in their marriage 18 months later. For Charles, the clincher was that he finally had the key to completing the Times crossword—Carolyn could answer the Shakespeare clues. Carolyn joined Charles in Bermuda and for 49 years they were two halves of a whole.It was in Bermuda that Charles was exposed to many...

bmj;387/nov15_9/q2520/FAF1faDavid was born in Sale and attended Calday Grange Grammar School, then Sale County Grammar School. Following medical school in Manchester and house jobs, he spent two years in national service. This was followed by attachments to the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service, formative years with time in north Africa, Cyprus, Kuwait, and Malaya.As a student he competed at county level in athletics and later captained the army rugby team in Cyprus.On return to surgical training, he demonstrated anatomy in Edinburgh and held posts in Oxford, Preston, and Manchester before four years as senior registrar in south Wales.A year of research in Seattle for his doctorate in 1970 led to a consultant post in York in 1972. He took a lead clinical role in the planning and delivery of the new district hospital in 1976 and, with colleagues, he advanced breast cancer services in York through...

bmj;387/nov15_6/q2525/FAF1faGodfrey Ripley was born in London in 1930 and after graduating from the London Hospital Medical College he trained in analytic psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic, London.He interned at Hackney Hospital and entered general practice with his GP father in north west London. With his young family he emigrated to Jamaica, where he also served in the Jamaica Defence Force.The family returned to the UK and Godfrey joined a practice in Elstree and Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, where he became involved with health education, taught social studies in local schools, and was a contributor to the BBC schools programme.In the late 1960s, with the growing interest in the new specialty of family medicine in the US, he was recruited to American academia. He served on the faculty at Duke University and the University of Connecticut, and inaugurated interdisciplinary training programmes at Texas Tech, Amarillo. He became a US citizen while in Texas.Following...

bmj;387/nov15_5/q2519/FAF1faVinit was born in Mumbai, India. He graduated from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in 1981 and came to the UK in 1989. After working in Dover, Lincoln, and Birmingham he settled in north Wales and Chester, serving the communities of Bodelwyddan and Wrexham. Vinit was a respected mentor to his junior colleagues and a compassionate professional known for his expertise and dedication to teaching practical anaesthetic skills.Vinit married Nutan in 1983 and together they raised two children: daughter Shreya, a dental surgeon, and son Omkar, a software specialist.Vinit was a proud and dedicated family man. His love and commitment extended beyond his immediate family; he was a lively member of his community, often hosting and joining local gatherings with his wide circle of friends.He leaves Nutan; Shreya and Omkar; two grandchildren; and many friends.

Inadequate vaccination coverage drove the number of measles cases to an estimated 10.3 million worldwide in 2023, the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said in a joint report.1Coverage of at least 95% of children with two doses of the vaccine is needed to prevent outbreaks and protect communities. However, over 22 million children missed the first dose of a measles containing vaccine (MCV1) last year, reporting an immunity gap that stands in the way of elimination of the disease, said the report, published on 14 November.The estimated global coverage of MCV1 reached a peak of 86% in 2019, before declining to 81% in 2021 because of the covid-19 pandemic. Although coverage improved to 83% in 2022, it remained unchanged in 2023. No WHO region has regained its peak coverage levels.If vaccination coverage does not outpace a rapidly growing population, the number of...

The decision to introduce legislation in the UK to regulate Physicians Associates (PAs) and Anaesthetic Associates (AAs) has been hotly contested. From a historical perspective, this is to be expected. The emergence of new occupational groups, especially where they impinge on existing ones, has often created tensions. Therefore, it is superficially attractive to see this dispute as no different to previous “boundary disputes,” as when nurses extended their roles into areas traditionally occupied by doctors.1 The relationship between these groups can be seen as a Venn diagram. Each has a distinct core body of knowledge, and any disputes arise on either side of the lines demarcating where their roles overlap.The situation with PAs and AAs is entirely different. Rather than a Venn diagram, there is one smaller circle entirely within another, as PAs and AAs have no distinct body of knowledge or skills separate from that of physicians. While they...