Stop me if I’m wrong but I visit the doctor, go to A&E – read enlist medical expertise – because they are just that: experts. With the majority of the population not undergoing multiple years of medical training I expect my doctors and nursers, healthcare practitioners etc. to know better than me. I approach them […]
To Complete or No: The Semantics of Suicide
To many of us ‘committing suicide’ is a phrase that rolls off our tongue. We don’t think of the implications of saying this. We may not be aware of the implications of say it. You may think I am being fussy but this is an all important point. Up until recently committing suicide was an […]
The Authentic Life
I have a fear, a fear that my children, future generations will not experience what I have dubbed the ‘authentic life’. As technology takes leaps and bounds I feel each generation is one step further from this ‘authentic life’ based on human contact; face to face communication. If you ask my generation to phone someone […]
Rendered Speechless: A Women’s Right To Choose
I wasn’t surprised to find an article about a woman not wanting to have children as part of the BBC’s Women’s 100. Although most of us grow up with the image of our future white picket fence family with 2.5 children and a dog, this is not for everyone. Yes, we may consider it the […]
Winnie the Who…?
Winnie the Pooh holds cultural significance for people all over the world. Many of us hearing the theme tune can’t help but sing along. Memories of playing pooh sticks on bridges on sunny afternoons come flooding back. To this day, a number of us will still have Winnie the Pooh paraphernalia dotted all over the […]
A Medical Miracle: Pancreatic Cancer and Me
Ulster University have reported success in a new method in tumour reduction for those with pancreatic cancer. The new treatment injects tumors with oxygen bubbles coated with medication which is then activated by ultrasound. This treatment shrinks the size of the tumor giving a greater chance of tumor resection. Currently pancreatic cancer is hard to […]
Photoshop and the Path to Religious Intolerance
Imagine a young Canadian Sikh man’s surprise when a selfie which he took in 2014 implicated his role in the tragic Paris shooting on Friday night. The selfie which Jubbal took in his bathroom mirror, like many people his age, was edited on Photoshop. The reflection of Jubbal’s iPad in the mirror was changed into […]
Oh to be a Swede!: A 6 Hour Work Day Fairytale
Some offices and workplaces in Sweden are trialling a six-hour working day which includes a one hour lunch break. This idea seeks to improve the work-life balance which has received greater attention in recent years. Shorter working hours seem to be an all-round good idea. Preliminary results show a greater quality of work and a […]
Call the Doctor (or Not): Problems in the Mental Health System
A BBC health article (read here) on child mental health shows that school teachers are calling 999 or taking students to A&E to get them appropriate mental health support. This is one sign of a far bigger problem. This problem arises from the gap in provision between mental and physical health – known as parity […]
The Tampon Luxury
The government in their infinite wisdom have blocked an attempt to have a further reduction on tampon tax which currently sits at 5%. According to various politicians the UK have their ‘hands-bound’ by the EU who mediate these decisions. The EU must give permission – read all EU states must agree – to lower the […]