Johnnie's blog

 As we see war erupting yet again in the Middle East, amid much polarisation of views, it is helpful for us to lay aside our prejudices and try to grasp the complexity of all that has gone before.  I have visited Israel twice and Jordan twice, and have studied the current affairs of the region…

The NHS sees a colossal 1 million patients every 36 hours, spending nearly £2 billion per week, making it a £100 billion-a-year-plus business. Aside from the banks, the only companies with a larger turnover in the FTSE 100 are the two global oil giants Shell and BP. Staggeringly, if the NHS were a country it…

In the preface to his tome, the English historian and antiquarian Thomas Wright used the words that it was “a book of life among the working classes”.  He wrote that at the very least, the lower classes deserved the book’s title “The Great Unwashed” (London, 1868). How judgemental, divisive and socially offensive this seems today. …

I wrote the bones of this over 2 years ago.  But then we knew nothing of Covid-19, and we would not have believed what was about to arrive.  Now, with all we have suffered, and with a Covid-19 vaccine arriving, maybe this is much more relevant.   The cow might have saved more lives than…

To trigger an immune response, vaccines have traditionally put a weakened or inactivated bacterium or virus into our bodies. That’s is a potential problem with highly virulent viruses such as Covid. Instead, mRNA vaccines use ‘Messenger RNA’ created in a laboratory to teach our cells how to make a protein or even just a piece…

Apparently empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is the new interactive quality we should all be showing.  While it’s not clear exactly how humans experience empathy, there is a growing body of research on the topic. While sympathy and compassion are related to empathy, there are important differences. Sympathy and…

Covid, not to exaggerate, has ravaged our nation. The lockdown was severe in every regard – social, financial, employment, commerce, education, childcare, transport, aviation, leisure, mental health, sport, hospitality, religious gatherings, weddings, funerals, civil liberties and more. Of course, at the outset we knew so little of this disease that was galloping through the world,…

Political intervention is usually unhelpful and cross party working is needed Over my 47 years, reorganisations, new systems, new contracts and new targets all came in different colours.  But during my life as an A&E Consultant, I have witnessed a lot of 2nd World care. If anyone believes A&E is in a sudden crisis they…