Letters

Tobacco control without a maximum nicotine level in products is a smokescreen

Education and training could reduce mistakes in medical records

Covid-19 impact on patients: ease of access should be a clear aim of the NHS

The NHS, a complex machine, is failing because of frailty

NHS and climate change: stop 28 day prescriptions for drugs taken long term

Folic acid in pregnancy: high dose supplements are also recommended after bariatric surgery

Social workers can help adults with complex needs with financial wellbeing

Death and the bogus contract between doctors and patients: what is in the patient’s best interests?

Triage in general practice: the trick is working out whether telephone triage works for the condition

Triage in general practice: the trick is working out whether telephone triage works for the condition

Learning from complaints during covid-19: discuss risks and benefits before hospital treatment

The culture of complaints pits providers against patients

Authors’ reply to Reed

Listen to your enemies

Living in US rural areas could be hazardous to your health

GMC: harsh punishment is a sword of Damocles

Paediatric “virtual wards” were reducing admissions well before the pandemic

England’s food strategy: local directors of public health need to be given power and resources

Death, futility, and oncology

England’s food strategy: missed opportunity to use fiscal food policy levers to improve diets and reduce health inequalities

It is not possible to “consent” others

Using cheaper, less qualified, staff is one aspect of “industrial medicine”

Improving the quality of publications on structural racism in healthcare

Death and the bogus contract between doctors and patients: an injection of hope and an illusion of control

We know very little about the costs of specialist palliative care provision in the UK

Towards breaking down cleft data silos to improve clinical research and patient outcomes

Racism in the NHS: let’s not rely on flawed surveys

New data strategy for England: Scotland provides an exemplar for achieving public trust

Too much healthcare

Doctor-patient relationship is essential to curtail overdiagnosis

More to Illich than overtreatment: his work is relevant as we reflect on pandemic management

Priority cases for remifentanil use and inhaled anaesthesia

Once you believe something exists you can listen to patients and fund research

Unpaid carers are the missing piece in treatment guidelines and research priorities for ME/CFS

Withdrawing volatile anaesthetic agents limits options for patients, particularly women and children

Pronouncing my name as best you can matters to me as your colleague

Showing respect to colleagues is more complex than how well they pronounce your name

Authors’ reply to Booth and colleagues

Diagnosing prostate cancer at a curable stage means providing PSA tests to asymptomatic patients

Expert wisdom on prostate cancer testing not evident in NHS commissioning guidance

Manjula Arora case: united we stand

The GMC has allowed itself to become the “paramilitary wing” of the NHS

Is empathic communication detrimental to clinician wellbeing?

Manjula Arora case: time to regulate the GMC

Manjula Arora: would most “ordinary decent people” conclude that she had acted dishonestly?

Fear of the GMC significantly hinders the GP workforce

Effect of crisis in NHS dentistry on dental training

Recognising and reporting paediatric side effects

Triage in general practice: key hurdles to overcome

Triage in general practice: design processes around the needs of patients, not systems

Triage in general practice: more impersonal, industrialised medicine

We lose medical secretaries at our peril

Initial health assessments for new migrants: the evidence gap

Antedating examples of “chickenpox”

“No rehab potential”: everyone has potential for something

Recent hepatitis outbreak in children may have a foodborne toxin as its cause

Incorrect news on a good old trial

UK’s ban on conversion therapy should include transgender people

Communication around the social determinants of health: use the “devil’s music” for emotional appeal

Legal right to palliative care wouldn’t be needed if the hospice movement didn’t operate outside the NHS

We need reliable evidence to guide treatment choices for the many, not the few

Rising cost of living’s effect on infant feeding

Calorie labelling: change focus to unprocessed foods for health

Use of disempowering language: see people as people first

Collateral damage in a reductionist strategy: the effect of calorie labelling on those with eating disorders

Preventing lead exposure in the population

Respiratory protective equipment in the NHS: time to fund a cheap PAPR system

If you need more doctors, make the job worth it

Three more points about Paxlovid for covid-19

Junior doctors are burdened with clinical admin is because it’s dull and monotonous

Ensuring proper standards in digital technology for surgery in low resource settings

Comprehensive strategy required to eliminate valproate prescribing in pregnancy

Results of steroid and anaesthetic injection in hip arthritis imply that anaesthetic alone may be effective

Let patients self-refer to lifestyle management services for osteoarthritis

Suicides of terminally ill patients should inform the debate on assisted dying

Higher risk of suicide should prompt calls for better mental healthcare and support, not legalised assisted dying

The power of language to channel change—a delicate and difficult balancing act

Changing language could empower patients and doctors

The language we use causes doctors stress too

Catalysing the patient revolution: work with communities for real change

The BMJ,, look to your laurels to catalyse the patient revolution

Private screening and general practice

Empower young people with type 1 diabetes

Managing type 1 diabetes: have faith in patients

Private practitioners should treat, not just assess

Future reporting of vaccine uptake needs to include any change in ethnic or socioeconomic disparities

Two tier healthcare: considering the private sector during a pandemic is not eschewing a whole system

Ockenden report: the NHS needs a radical overhaul of safety and leadership culture

The need to look beyond lifestyle in preventing dementia

Conjunctivitis in newborns: don’t ignore the expertise of GPs

Ockenden report confirms need for a UK agency to deal with all healthcare complaints properly

Ockenden report shows need for proper investment in workforce planning

Ockenden report exposes failure in national policy for maternity services

An ostrich strategy for covid-19 is too risky

Medical supplies for musculoskeletal infections are needed in Kharkiv and throughout Ukraine

Molnupiravir might be dangerous without clarification of its indications

Imbalance in baseline characteristics in molnupiravir trials

Molnupiravir’s authorisation should be re-evaluated after the Panoramic trial is reported

There is no mystery to becoming a leader

Clinical leadership is a difficult balancing act