I went to the first day of the Association of Family Therapy & Systemic Practice (AFT – link to the AFT website here) annual conference in Brighton last week, and heard two impressive plenary presentations. The first, by Karen Partridge, introduced me to the idea of constructive awkwardness. In her abstract entitled “Evolve or die! …
Have you been approached by scammers? A scam may be defined as a dishonest scheme or a fraud. I’m part of an online group of therapists and, during an online discussion, we discovered that two of us had received almost identical emails from an email address purporting to be that of a man seeking couple …
Sounds not quite right? Too good to be true? Be alert for scams Read More »
Appraisal and revalidation (introduced in 2012) are serious worries for people like me who are portfolio doctors. (See this link for the General Medical Council’s resources on appraisal and revalidation.) The theory is that doctors should be required to demonstrate that they are up to date, fit to practise, and providing quality care – I …
In March I spent two days at the Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry residential conference in Nottingham – a great conference as usual and lots to think about. Rob Howard was a star. He spoke about anti-psychotic drugs and made a number of important points: We should remind ourselves that antipsychotics work in dementia as …
Last week I took part in a GMC conference at the University of Chester, Adult safeguarding – everybody’s responsibility. Whilst preparing for it, I looked back at the Hippocratic Oath and, in one classical version, regarding the sick, the oath asserts “I will keep them from harm and injustice”. Duties of a doctor go back …
Adult Safeguarding – “keeping the sick from harm and injustice” Read More »
Yesterday (September 21st) was World Alzheimer’s Day. I confess that I didn’t see it coming. I now know too that the month of September was (and still is as I write this) World Alzheimer’s month, part of a campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma. In fact this year was the fourth time there has …
World Alzheimer’s Day: encouraging action and challenging stigma Read More »
I heard of a dementia service which recently undertook a visioning exercise. I wonder what the carers and patients using that service would think if they knew that? I can’t help but think that a “vision” is all well and good, but what we need more of is bread now, rather than fancy cake in …
Dementia care: Visions, bread and responsibility Read More »
I’m quite despondent about the recent general election. I went to a local hustings, although I live in a safe seat so it seemed a bit academic. I’ve never been before and thought it would be interesting. Virtually the only audience reaction was an audible gasp all round the hall, when, in response to a …
Politics and the NHS – creeping privatisation or planned destruction? Read More »
I have just returned from two days at the Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry conference in Glasgow: good company, a good programme and a comfortable, though maybe pricy, venue. What sticks in my mind is the debate on the motion: “Science has little place in the practice of old age psychiatry”. Could that possibly be …
I’m doing some work with carers at the moment and I’ve been thinking about the vulnerability of carers, particularly at a time of financial constraint. A paper on the Internet has helped me in thinking about this. You can link to it here. Caring carries costs. Becoming a carer involves making sacrifices. Some carers sacrifice …
