We have two encouraging reports in this week’s BMJ to ward off economic or seasonal gloom. The first is about adult critical care in England. Nearly ten years after a major modernisation and funding initiative led to a 35% increase in staffed beds, Andrew Hutchings and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.b4353) report substantially better processes and lower mortality. They say the initiative has been highly cost effective.

We’re going to need good critical care as we in the Northern hemisphere enter our flu season. We’re also going to need a good H1N1 vaccine, which brings me to the second encouraging …