Universal Medicine

Responsible for leading a mass vaccination campaign during the '70s that managed to completely eradicate Smallpox in 1979 and for launching a TB control strategy in 1995 that managed to save more than 35 million lives, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has done much in the past to aid and protect the people of this world. However, in 2013 the WHO was criticised for responding slowly to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa which subsequently led to the dire situation which we saw unfold there. Between 1979, 1995 and 2013, the fundamental reason as to why there was a difference in the way the WHO operated was the leadership. The Director General. I am writing this article today because on Tuesday 23rd May 2017, a new Director General was voted in and today we are going to discuss what this means for the World Health Organisation. First of all, let's talk about what the WHO is, and what they aim to achieve. First and foremost, the WHO is a UN a...

What does the general election mean for our healthcare system?   Politics is an intrinsic element to all areas of society, and the policies within party manifestos will inevitably shape the NHS and impact the care and quality of our medical institutions. It is no secret that hospital hallways are becoming more accustomed to patients and doctors are under increasing amounts of stress, so it is salient that the party taking office on June the 8 th can take the necessary steps to help ease the pressures. Although, it is not just about the NHS itself, the care of the UK’s elderly population is an element of the Conservative manifesto which is dividing voters.   An element present in the three main parties is additional funding for the NHS, with the Conservative party claiming spending will ‘rise by £6 billion in real terms’ by 2022, yet where the money will from for this is unsure, so it comes with ambiguity as to whether or not it can definitely be implemented. Furtherm...

Prescriptions paving our way to Health disaster?  Doctors of the NHS and UK have warned that painkiller dependency (addiction) may be a future crisis we are likely to face as data shows drug prescription has doubled in the UK within the past decade . The faculty of pain medicine and Royal Pharmaceutical society has raised concerns on the growing use of Opioid drugs(painkillers) e.g. codeine( a drug used to treat moderate degrees of pain) and Tramadol (drug used to treat severe pain). Dean of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Doctor Barry Miller stated - "While some of the increase use can be attributed towards an improvement in understanding of the effectiveness of these medications by professionals, we are concerned for reports of unnecessary prescription", furthermore he stated that increase prescription rates of painkillers in the UK should be "met with concern". NHS digital figures clearly shows evidence that the number of Opioids prescription have doubled in ...

Globally around 13 million people are killed by diseases that are passed from one organism to another, known as communicable diseases. That is 23% of all deaths, highlighting the detrimental effects of these diseases to humanity. Vast amounts of these diseases are due to bacteria, despite only a small proportion of the bacteria population being pathogenic. Bacteria is able to reproduce rapidly, making it easier for it to spread. Consequently, bacterial diseases are able to spread from organisms to organisms quickly by direct and indirect transmission. To kill pathogenic bacteria and prevent bacterial diseases antibiotics and vaccinations are used. Although, new resistant bacteria is developing making the treatments ineffective. Bacterial diseases that risk becoming antibiotic resistant include: §   - Tuberculosis- a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacteria tuberculosis . It suppresses the immune system, and if the immune system fails it could spread to other parts of the ...