messages
I resigned from NHS Forth Valley 6 years ago. This was a most difficult decision for me to take. I had worked as a Consultant in older adults in Clackmannanshire … Continue reading messages
Tag: Dementia
Peter’s Declaration
I have been updating my OMPHALOS films and have added this film from June 2019. At this Whistleblowing Event for NHS Scotland [though I prefer the term ‘Freedom to Speak … Continue reading Peter’s Declaration
Peter’s Lost Marbles
This film, made in 2011, which voiced my disquiet about the enthusiasm for the early diagnosis of dementia, generated such a defensive response that I felt I had to remove … Continue reading Peter’s Lost Marbles
Boghead
As an NHS doctor I worked in West Lothian for more than five years. I became very fond of the place and the people: where I found everydayness and kindness … Continue reading Boghead
apples on the sill of the window
A quote from ‘The Rings of Saturn’ by W G Sebald. This is for Mrs Picken.
Memories
My mother recently showed me the current edition of Colinton Magazine which contains memories of Mrs Picken and her husband. I have often shared my memories of Mrs Picken on … Continue reading Memories
Kindness, attention and respect
Many years ago, one of my patients who had lost a child to suicide, wrote to me to say: Some years later I read this: I have previously shared considerations … Continue reading Kindness, attention and respect
It stopped me
Last week I came across the above gravestone in Stewarton Churchyard and it stopped me. Mrs Picken was an elderly widow, who day after day, year after year, left an … Continue reading It stopped me
Battling and fighting words
The above paragraph comes from an article in yesterday’s Herald. The findings of this poll for MacMillan Cancer Support were widely shared and discussed across the media. MacMillan Cancer Support … Continue reading Battling and fighting words
We have moved on
I wrote this poem many years ago. At the time there was a national target for the early diagnosis of dementia (HEAT target 4). Concerned about the potential for harm … Continue reading We have moved on
Paradigms, pathologies and shifts
The following extracts are taken from this perspective published in the Scotsman, 11 January 2018: Pfizer has seemingly concluded that Alzheimer’s disease is far more complex than we had ever … Continue reading Paradigms, pathologies and shifts
Here is a story
The following excerpts are taken from the Scotsman, 28th December 2017: Targets are based on numbers that are intrinsically accredited primacy. But numbers cannot begin to tell a story. Here is a … Continue reading Here is a story