
blogs


The Leng Review and the leadership void: A call to fill the gap
So, the Leng Review has been published. A debate that has been admittedly toxic has finished its first…

Resident doctors’ strike
A strike by resident doctors (formerly known as junior doctors) will go ahead in England and Wales from…

bereavement leave and the grief we don’t talk about
The government are consulting on proposals to extend bereavement leave to those who lose a baby before…

God is love – this and every week
This week, our nation has walked across the Rubicon. Abortion will be decriminalised. Assisted suicide…

Why I oppose ‘assisted dying’: A South Asian psychiatrist’s perspective
As someone who has worked as a psychiatrist in the NHS for almost three decades, I’ve sat with hundreds…

Who benefits from abortion decriminalisation? Women or abortion providers?
The recent case of Nicola Packer has attracted a good deal of attention. The public response has been…

when doctors suggest death: an ethical response to clause 5(2)
The amended Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been published ahead of the third reading and…

CMF’s Values
CMF's Christian values can be summed up in Christ's two great commandments (Luke 10:27). 'Love the Lord…

CMF file 77 – justice in healthcare
See previous CMF Files editions

committee stage takeaways
The committee reviewing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has finished its line-by-line review…

when choices collide
The National Health Service Act of 1946 gave the Minister of Health a duty ‘to promote the establishment…
Three-parent embryos: can the end ever justify the means?
Every year, about one in 5,000 babies are born with a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation, inherited from their mother, leading to incurable, life-changing, often life-shortening, diseases. In 2013, Philippa Taylor wrote a CMF file commenting on a new IVF technique that could enable the creation of ‘three-parent embryos’ and avoid the transmission of mitochondrial disease […]
The Leng Review and the leadership void: A call to fill the gap
So, the Leng Review has been published. A debate that has been admittedly toxic has finished its first round. There has been bruising on both sides. Doctors believed some of their traditional work was being taken away, and with it the income it supported. At a time when competition for training in medicine has never […]
Resident doctors’ strike
A strike by resident doctors (formerly known as junior doctors) will go ahead in England and Wales from 6:59 am this Friday (25 July) to 6:59 am next Wednesday (30 July). This is the first round of industrial action since the BMA and government struck a deal for the last pay round in the early […]
bereavement leave and the grief we don’t talk about
The government are consulting on proposals to extend bereavement leave to those who lose a baby before 24 weeks gestation. Musician Myleen Klass, a vocal campaigner for miscarriage awareness, is amongst those who welcome this move. She is quoted in a BBC article speaking in favour of this development from her own experience of pregnancy […]
God is love – this and every week
This week, our nation has walked across the Rubicon. Abortion will be decriminalised. Assisted suicide will be legalised and provided by the State. Each of these votes serves to unravel the cords that bind society to life, to truth and to love. All people – people made in the image of God – have lost […]
Why I oppose ‘assisted dying’: A South Asian psychiatrist’s perspective
As someone who has worked as a psychiatrist in the NHS for almost three decades, I’ve sat with hundreds of people struggling with emotional turmoil, suicidal thoughts, and overwhelming despair. Many have felt, in their darkest moments, that their lives were not worth living. Some have even made serious attempts to end their lives. That’s […]
Who benefits from abortion decriminalisation? Women or abortion providers?
The recent case of Nicola Packer has attracted a good deal of attention. The public response has been overwhelmingly sympathetic, rightly so. This poor woman has had to wait over four years for her case to come to court and for her to be cleared of the charge of killing her unborn baby by knowingly […]
when doctors suggest death: an ethical response to clause 5(2)
The amended Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been published ahead of the third reading and House of Commons vote in a few weeks. Contrary to objections – including from some MPs who voted for the Bill with the hope of it being removed in committee – the Bill continues to include Clause […]
committee stage takeaways
The committee reviewing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has finished its line-by-line review of the bill. The amended Bill has been published, and it would be worthwhile for all health professionals to read for themselves what is being proposed. Nearly 600 amendments were submitted, but most were rejected. Of those accepted most […]
when choices collide
The National Health Service Act of 1946 gave the Minister of Health a duty ‘to promote the establishment in England and Wales of a comprehensive health service designed to secure improvement in the physical and mental health of the people of England and Wales and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness.’ Aneurin Bevan, the […]
bag babies?
Just as children conceived through IVF became known colloquially as ‘test-tube babies’, the work being carried out by scientists to create artificial wombs has been dubbed by a recent item in The Times as a quest to grow a ‘baby in a bag’.’ The piece didn’t really contain anything new except to say that only […]
Physician Associates: a personal perspective
Physician Associates (PAs) were introduced in the UK in 2003. The NHS describes the profession as aiming to support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients. Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) have a similar aim in supporting anaesthetists. Over recent months and years, there has been significant controversy over how these professions are or should be […]