Seven days in medicine: 17-23 January 2018
BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k323 (Published 25 January 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;360:k323
Assisted dying
Man wins right to take case to Court of Appeal
A retired lecturer with advanced motor neurone disease has been granted permission to appeal a decision rejecting his challenge to the current ban on assisted dying. Noel Conway, from Shropshire, UK, argues that the current law is incompatible with his human rights. The judgment at a hearing on 18 January confirmed that the courts have the authority to make a declaration of incompatibility between the 1961 Suicide Act, which criminalised helping someone to die, and human rights legislation. (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.k268)
Brexit
Johnson is rebuked for repeating “discredited” NHS claim
A leading public health expert, Michael Marmot, censured the UK foreign secretary and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson for repeating a claim that the NHS would benefit from £350m (€401m; $495m) extra income a week once it leaves the EU. Johnson had told the Guardian newspaper that the Leave campaign could have used a much higher figure, as the UK’s weekly gross contribution to the EU would rise to £438m by 2020-21. But Marmot rebuked Johnson, saying that this figure had been discredited by the UK Statistics Authority. (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.k240)
Patient care
Staff shortages force mental health trusts to cut services
Problems with staffing have forced mental health providers around England …
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