It normally grates on me when someone makes passing reference to football or their favourite team in search of the common touch. So forgive me for doing the same just this once. It does serve a purpose.....of sorts. I am sure that those familiar with football punditry - and even those who are not - will have … Continue reading What defines medical research charities?
patients
Patient consent and research
A colleague in the office sent me a link this week to a piece by Professor Anthony Mathur on the BBC Online's 'Scrubbing Up' pages in which he argues that if people want treatment for a heart problem, they should be obliged to take part in the research. The very same day I got home to a … Continue reading Patient consent and research
Dialogue by numbers
I am writing this while sitting in a cafe in the exhibition area at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. Such are the wonders of modern technology! Gordon Brown's speech is over and the crowds have more or less dispersed. All the action has moved to nearby tv and radio studios where the debate will … Continue reading Dialogue by numbers
Research of rare quality
The Government's Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR) will at some point in the next few months publish its 'National Ambitions' for health research. Since communications has never been one of OSCHR's strengths it has been close to impossible to discern quite what this thing will look like, if and when it … Continue reading Research of rare quality
