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Mentally and physically safe workplaces: the challenge of doctors’ well-being

Our ENT consultant colleague Eric Levi bravely tackles the very real elephant in the room of that stigma which is not really discussed until it is often too late. It takes courage to tackle a difficult topic like doctors’ mental...

Matthew Clark: full-time otologist, spare-time sculptor

Drilling a temporal bone may seem like torture to some trainee surgeons. To others it is but a stepping stone to something altogether grander... I took Art A-level a year early so as not to interfere with the ‘important subjects’,...

True Cut – a dramatic biopsy from the world of surgery

True Cut is a stage play that asks: “What happens when things go wrong in healthcare?” It brings the hidden world of the operating theatre onto the theatre stage. ENT surgeon, David Alderson, talks about how the play came about....

Cochlear implants for children

The field of cochlear implants in children has expanded remarkably over 40 years. Elizabeth Tyszkiewicz reflects on success and current challenges and calls for a national review of outcomes for young adults who received their implants in childhood. Aleena is...

The astronomer’s nose: Tycho Brahe’s controversial prosthesis

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) is a familiar and colourful figure in the history of science. The immense quantity of data he collected during his lifetime would enable the work of Johannes Kepler and has gained him admission to the astronomical pantheon....

'If music be the food of love, play on'

Christopher Aldren Consultant Otolaryngologist, Wexham Park Hospital, UK. Chris playing at Cambridge garden party 2003. Chris with wife and sons Tom and Alex in family quartet. Chris leading the Doctors Orchestra at the Cadogan Hall in London. Christopher Aldren, Consultant...

Changing behaviour with a human factors approach

The Francis Report (2013) identified multiple problems relating to the safety culture of Stafford Hospital in the period 2005 – 2009, as well as serious failings in the supervisory and regulatory systems of the NHS. Particular criticism was directed at...

Doctors’ health and wellbeing: depression in surgeons

Dr Clare Gerada and Richard Jones work for the Practitioner Health Programme (PHP), a specialist service for doctors and dentists in the London area with mental health / addiction problems (www.php.nhs.uk). Here they discuss some of their preliminary findings (specific...

A small company’s perspective

In this article, we hear from Alan McNulty, Director from Sheffmed, an SME (Small – Medium Enterprise), who have supplied surgical instruments, consumables and video systems to ENT clinicians for over 12 years. Alan outlines some of the choices and...

Welcome to BACO Liverpool: a city with deep roots in ENT

Liverpool is a city steeped in ENT history, so it is fitting that BACO is being held there once more. Ray Clarke, former editor of ENT and Audiology News, casts his eye over the historical legacy of that fine city....

Academic BACO 2015

Putting together the academic programme for BACO is a monumental task. Academic Chairman Shakeel Saeed and Peter Andrews, the Academic Secretary of the conference, tell us how to make it a success. Conference season is nearly upon us, and Liverpool...

Is one glass of wine on call safe?

It’s a standard question for those about to sit a Specialist Training (ST) interview; you are on call and you call a senior colleague in to perform an operation. You smell alcohol on the breath of the surgeon, so what...