Capitalist Creep on Campus
The largest, quietest privatisation in UK history – it’s why we’re striking For the next week and a half, many UK university lecturers will be on strike again, but who outside of academia really cares? After all, university academics have great jobs.... More…
The ‘Appliance of Science’?
The topsy-turvy world of the NHS’s relationship with minority groups and their non-standard care requirements When the NHS was last in expansion and a ‘transformation’ was underway, one of the guiding principles was called “World Class Commissioning“. It was the... More…
Election 2019
“McGovern made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seem almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every day of his life, on purpose, as a matter of policy and a perfect expression of everything he stands for.... More…
Are cities bad for our mental health?
Are cities bad for our mental health? The question of cities and mental health was once a key topic for sociologists and psychiatrists. In the 1930s, sociologists Faris and Dunham argued that the prevalence of schizophrenia in Chicago was caused,... More…
Tech Companies are Shaping Health Knowledge for Profit
Healthcare and treatment have always been closely entwined with technological innovation and learning. Knowledge of the body, as well as treatments and procedures which medics perform, have been made possible by the development of stethoscopes, X-rays and MRIs amongst myriad... More…
Ending the hostile environment in health: The responsibility of intellectuals
As usual I was running late. Walking away from patients or relatives at the end of the day working as a doctor in the NHS is never an easy task. But it is something that has become increasingly difficult since... More…
Joker
May Contain Spoilers In the same week as World Mental Health Day (10th October) the blockbuster, from the DC Comics’ Batman series, “Joker” was number one in both the UK and US box offices. While the various Batman movies, and... More…
Compassion and Solidarity
Is there more anger in the news than usual? Ala Sirriyeh, 2018. The Politics of Compassion: Immigration and Asylum Policy. Bristol: Bristol University Press. xiv, 208 pp. Boris Johnson’s inflammatory language at the first session of the UK’s Westminster parliament after its... More…
The myth of sudden ‘No-deal’ food shortages
A friend of mine whispered to me the other day that he is stockpiling items of food in advance of the impending ‘no deal’ Brexit food chaos. Indeed a quarter of UK voters have started taking precautions against the adverse... More…
The Social Construction of Dental Fear
Fear of the dentist is one of the most common fears across Europe and North America. Recent research in the British Dental Journal suggesting that over 50% of the UK population claim to be anxious about visits to the dentist,... More…
Political Suicide
Last week it was #WorldSuicidePreventionDay – social media was awash with supportive messages being thrown into the ether for whoever might see/need them, or to virtue signal. We are told it is ok not to be ok, that we should... More…
Conservative plan for the NHS – but does it add up?