Seven days in medicine: 11-17 January 2023
BMJ 2023; 380 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p106 (Published 19 January 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;380:p106
Covid-19
MP is suspended over holocaust comments
The Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen was suspended from his party for spreading misinformation after he compared covid-19 vaccination to the holocaust. In a now deleted tweet linking to an article that questioned the safety of the vaccines, Bridgen had said, “As one consultant cardiologist said to me, this is the biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust.” The Conservative chief whip, Simon Hart, commented, “Andrew Bridgen has crossed a line, causing great offence in the process. Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives.” (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.p81)
Training
England gets 900 new specialty posts in August
Roger Kirby, president of the Royal Society of Medicine, welcomed nearly 900 medical specialty training posts in England from this August created by Health Education England, but he questioned whether the doctors would stay in the UK once trained. Kirby told The BMJ, “Last year 6950 UK doctors applied for a certificate to work abroad. This is up from 5576 in 2021. Retention of our homegrown doctors won’t be possible unless we resolve the issues of pay, conditions, and pensions, which are currently the source of much unhappiness and strike balloting.” (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.p79)
Waiting times
NHS waiting list is still over seven million
Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, described a fall in the number of people in England awaiting hospital treatment—from 7.21 million in October 2022 to 7.19 million …
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