Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
There seems to be an underlying dishonesty in health care, where increasing funds are devoted to achieving ever smaller gains in health.
We have known for decades that the main drivers for disease are age and poverty. We are unable to change natural aging, but we can change poverty within our society, but not with medicine.
A widening income gap, underfunding of social care and austerity measures that affect the poorest members of our society will have had significant adverse affects on health and use of NHS resources. That child poverty in the UK has reached a record high this year of 1 in 3 children is a shameful reflection of our society.
If we, as a profession, are serious about health, we have to focus on the causes of ill health, not just treating risk factors and disease when they present.
Re: Mental health: tackle poverty, inequality, and isolation, says UN
There seems to be an underlying dishonesty in health care, where increasing funds are devoted to achieving ever smaller gains in health.
We have known for decades that the main drivers for disease are age and poverty. We are unable to change natural aging, but we can change poverty within our society, but not with medicine.
A widening income gap, underfunding of social care and austerity measures that affect the poorest members of our society will have had significant adverse affects on health and use of NHS resources. That child poverty in the UK has reached a record high this year of 1 in 3 children is a shameful reflection of our society.
If we, as a profession, are serious about health, we have to focus on the causes of ill health, not just treating risk factors and disease when they present.
Competing interests: No competing interests