Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=6172
CMF is global, national, and local. Our mission is broad and inspiring as we seek to see gospel transformation in our nation, our hospitals, our GP surgeries, our universities, and above all, in the lives of individuals. But mission and activity happen through people who live in real places with...
Care Across Cultures Communicating well with our ethnic patients Robin Fisher New Generation Publishing, 2020, £8, 114pp, ISBN: 9781800319752 Reviewed by Steve Fouch, CMF Head of Communications There are three traps that any book on cross-cultural communication can easily fall into. The first is 'othering' those from a different culture, making the reader...
'Conscientious objection (CO) is the refusal to perform a legal role or responsibility because of personal beliefs. In health care, conscientious objection involves practitioners not providing certain treatments to their patients, based on reasons of morality or conscience.' [1] Everyone has a conscience. Everyone has a worldview. Unsurprisingly, 'everyone' includes healthcare...
From mercy killing to death on demand In the early 1990s, the death of a twelve-year-old girl captured the attention of Canadians. Tracy Latimer, who was only a month shy of her 13th birthday, lived with cerebral palsy and loved music, horses, and the circus. Her life was like that of...
Lament at sin and its effects as the impetus for advocacy Advocacy always springs from lament. As our hearts are grieved by suffering, injustice and the chaos and confusion of our fallen world, we yearn for change and long for what is better. There has been a tendency among evangelical Christians, particularly...
The need for wisdom In the early 1990s, I was just starting as a trainee psychiatrist. The woman booked to see me was one of the first patients with depression for whom I was responsible. I had about 20 minutes to evaluate how she was doing, review her diagnosis, and decide...
Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better! [1] Self-improvement by autosuggestion was already a recognised technique when Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) published his book The Power of Positive Thinking in 1952. A hugely influential preacher, motivational speaker, and writer, Peale combined Christian hope with a kind of general...
Medicine has always been an ethical and legal minefield for Christians. One of the greatest dilemmas remains deciding who does or does not receive medical care. In every healthcare setting, decisions are made daily concerning access to care. During the COVID-19 crisis, guidance emphasised a utilitarian approach [1] without recognising...
US diplomats not Havana a great time In 2016, US diplomats and intelligence operatives based at their recently reopened embassy in Cuba began reporting a mysterious cluster of symptoms reminiscent of concussion - headaches, memory loss, a sense of pressure in their heads, nausea, and fatigue. There was no obvious cause....
It has often been said that laughter is the best medicine. After the events of the last 18 months, it seems as though there hasn't been a lot to smile and laugh about. And when we do, there can almost be a sense of guilt that we enjoy things when...
'Doctors Drop Opposition to Assisted Dying!' were the predictable headlines when the British Medical Association (BMA) narrowly voted to move from 'opposition' to 'neutrality' on 'assisted dying, including physician-assisted dying' (PAD), at its online Annual Representatives' Meeting (ARM) on 14 September. [1] The vote was incredibly close, with just four votes...
The involuntary detention of people with serious mental illness is currently controlled by the Mental Health Act of 1983, as amended in 2007 (MHA 1983/2007). [1] An Independent Review of the Mental Health Act [2] grappled with balancing patient autonomy against the protection of individuals and communities. It also addressed...
Data is the new gold - the most valuable commodity in the digital world, and the NHS holds a vast amount of this asset. Data about almost every British resident's medical history, demographics, and healthcare interactions. This information is estimated to be worth nearly £10 billion, according to Ernst &...
At the time of writing, Westminster has just dropped its 'vaccination passport' plans for crowded venues in England, [1] but has rolled out a voluntary vaccination programme for twelve to 15-year-olds. [2] Meanwhile, vaccine passports will be introduced in Scotland from 1 October, [3] and Westminster's ruling that all care...
