The Launch of the Integrated Care Boards and the dismantling of universal healthcare
On 1st July 2022 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) took over commissioning responsibility for the NHS. This followed the Health and Social Care Act receiving Royal Assent at the end of April and passing in to law. Integrated Care Boards are...
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Uncertainty, Polarisation and COVID
Uncertainty has become a staple of day to day life across the world in the past two years. The COVID pandemic has introduced uncertainty into all aspects of life, affecting our interactions with others, our work and home lives and...
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Long COVID
We may not yet understand much about the causes and implications of the collection of symptoms occurring post COVID-19 infection that has been labelled Long COVID. But we already understand far more than we think we do about the experiences...
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Deaf in the time of Covid
Deaf people are not, by nature of their hearing impairment, at any increased risk from COVID than the general population. However, the strategy developed and implemented by the government to control the spread of the virus disproportionately disadvantages D/deaf people....
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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 experience dental fear when visiting the dentist,...
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The Colonisation of Pondering and Pottering
What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where...
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“There’s none so deaf as those who will not hear”.
A report released this week by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) shows that deaf children are falling even further behind their hearing peers in school than previously thought. Figures show that 30.6% of deaf children achieve a grade 5 or...
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From Period Poverty to Menstrual Cups
(via the tampon tax and a brief trip to the Amex stadium) Way back in the 1980’s I wrote to my then local MP Sir Archie Hamilton to ask why tampons were taxed as a luxury item when it was...
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Extreme Waxing
The Normalisation of Hair Free Female Bodies Talking to a beautician friend about hair removal and summer beautification regimes led to a discussion about fashions in bikini waxing and hair removal. Interestingly she said she had noticed generational differences in...
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All you need is love…
This Valentine’s Day, as with every year, the shops are full of hearts and flowers, and the internet is bombarding us with adverts for romantic getaways, meal deals, and ideas for ever more expensive ways to demonstrate our love for...
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A Shared Love for the Beautiful Game
Sitting in the stands last Sunday watching Brighton and Hove Albion take on Everton there was a palpable energy in the air. From the cheers and chants for home players to the booing of opposing players and officials, the atmosphere...
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The Fall of NHS Dentistry: A service in crisis.