Lucy Dunn is The Spectator's political correspondent. She is a qualified doctor from Glasgow.
As of today, nine children have died in the UK after falling ill with Strep A. Now, more children under ten have lost their lives from severe infection caused by invasive Strep A (sometimes abbreviated to iGAS) than did from Covid in the first three months of the pandemic in 2020. In most cases, Group
The NHS is facing its own winter of discontent: A&E waiting times are surging, GP availability is plunging and a strike is brewing. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), says Britain is facing a ‘de facto general strike’: from nurses to ambulance drivers to doctors – even in emergency departments and cancer centres – as they
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On this week’s episode, Jade McGlynn reads her article on the Russian mothers and wives turning against Putin, because of their sons and husbands missing in the war (00:55). Lucy Dunn, a former junior doctor, asks whether pharmacists aren’t part of the solution to the crisis in the NHS (09:45). And Graeme Thompson reads his
It started as a small red shadow on my nose that gradually began to spread as the inflammation took hold. Soon the lesion was painful. A golden crust appeared and my suspicions were confirmed: impetigo. Impetigo is an incredibly infectious skin condition – and if left untreated, it can scar. Topical antibiotics – fucidin ointment
Scotland is witnessing a concerning uptick in ‘avoidable’ deaths. With an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year, there were almost 18,000 preventable deaths in Scotland in 2021. As the rising pressures on the NHS continue to expose cracks, this week’s report on avoidable mortality from the National Records of Scotland does little
In hospitals, waiting lists have become so long that people have to queue for over two days to be seen. Patients are advised to avoid turning up if they can help it. Bed shortages mean people spend nights on corridor floors. Over 30 patients markedly deteriorate or even die each week as a result of
If there was ever a bad time to end up in hospital, today – Black Wednesday – is it. The first Wednesday of August is changeover day in NHS hospitals. A fresh-faced cohort of junior doctors arrive on the wards ready to get their hands dirty. It’s also the day that just about every trainee doctor
The NHS is facing the biggest crisis in its history. GP surgeries are breaking under pressure, waiting lists could top nine million by March 2024, and there’s a huge shortfall of staff. Many medics are opting to simply throw in the towel. Having recently qualified as a doctor, I can’t say I’m surprised. For junior
