Does Gender or Religion Contribute to the Risk of COVID-19 in Hospital Doctors?

This webpage details and provides the research study conducted in the United Kingdom through online surveys focusing on the relationship between healthcare workplace prevention efforts, COVID-19 risks, religious identity, and gender. The research study focuses on healthcare workers, primarily hospital doctors and mental health doctors. A PDF of the entire study is available on the webpage

A systematic review of the incidence of schizophrenia: the distribution of rates and the influence of sex, urbanicity, migrant status and methodology

BACKGROUND: Understanding variations in the incidence of schizophrenia is a crucial step in unravelling the aetiology of this group of disorders. The aims of this review are to systematically identify studies related to the incidence of schizophrenia, to describe the key features of these studies, and to explore the distribution of rates derived from these studies. METHODS: Studies with original data related to the incidence of schizophrenia (published 1965–2001) were identified via searching electronic databases, reviewing citations and writing to authors. These studies were divided into core studies, migrant studies, cohort studies and studies based on Other Special Groups. Between- and within-study filters were applied in order to identify discrete rates. Cumulative plots of these rates were made and these distributions were compared when the underlying rates were sorted according to sex, urbanicity, migrant status and various methodological features. RESULTS: We identified 100 core studies, 24 migrant studies, 23 cohort studies and 14 studies based on Other Special Groups. These studies, which were drawn from 33 countries, generated a total of 1,458 rates. Based on discrete core data for persons (55 studies and 170 rates), the distribution of rates was asymmetric and had a median value (10%–90% quantile) of 15.2 (7.7–43.0) per 100,000. The distribution of rates was significantly higher in males compared to females; the male/female rate ratio median (10%–90% quantile) was 1.40 (0.9–2.4). Those studies conducted in urban versus mixed urban-rural catchment areas generated significantly higher rate distributions. The distribution of rates in migrants was significantly higher compared to native-born; the migrant/native-born rate ratio median (10%–90% quantile) was 4.6 (1.0–12.8). Apart from the finding that older studies reported higher rates, other study features were not associated with significantly different rate distributions (e.g. overall quality, methods related to case finding, diagnostic confirmation and criteria, the use of age-standardization and age range). CONCLUSIONS: There is a wealth of data available on the incidence of schizophrenia. The width and skew of the rate distribution, and the significant impact of sex, urbanicity and migrant status on these distributions, indicate substantial variations in the incidence of schizophrenia

Kailash Chand OBE FRCGP 1948-2021

A Sportsman, Poet &amp; Philosopher</jats:p

Supporting Stranded Migrant Doctors in the UK during Covid-19 Pandemic

The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) undertook a humanitarian project to come to the aid of several migrant doctors who were in the UK to take the Professional &amp; Linguistic Assessment Board’s (PLAB) part 2 clinical examination, and had become stranded due to the lockdown during the first surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The BAPIO PLAB stranded doctors’ project started as a serendipitous exercise in the third week of March 2020 with first a handful of migrant doctors, until it reached a peak of 267 doctors from 19 countries, and involved collaboration with multiple voluntary organisations, stakeholders, regulatory agencies and governments.&#x0D; There was no denying the complexity and intricacy of the demands on the stranded doctors, but it was even more pleasing to witness how the project team were more than ready to meet the challenges. Under the umbrella of BAPIO, the project team doctors, who previously had barely known each other, took on all the challenges - teaching, pastoral support, career advice, writing curriculum vitae, finding food, accommodation and funds for those in need; organising professional support, links with the General Medical Council, the High Commission of India and the U.K. Home Office. The project was concluded on 19 September, with all the doctors either returning home or making a decision to work in the NHS when conditions allowed them to.&#x0D; It is not possible to know how many passed their PLAB part 2 exams, but we estimated that over 50% did. The weekly virtual meetings, the camaraderie, the scale of the project, and most importantly bringing it to a closure without any major crisis, was only possible through sheer determination, understanding the needs, professionalism, leadership and excellent communication. The lessons from this project are important to illustrate the role of voluntary organisations (such as BAPIO) and the effectiveness of having established collaborative networks with official bodies and government agencies, for the future benefit migrant professionals.</jats:p

Back to Blame

The death of Jack Adcock in 2011 made headlines all around the world for many reasons. He was a 6-year-old child, admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) in February 2011 who died of sepsis and pneumonia 11 hours later. The paediatric registrar Dr. Hadiza Bawa-Garba had failed to diagnose his condition, resulting in criminal proceedings and her erasure from the medical register in 2017. This article gives a glimpse of the controversial case, tries to relate this to all medical specialties, and offers some guidance on how to avoid a similar situation developing.</jats:p

The Ethics of Industrial Action by Doctors

The traditional and majoritarian view of medicine as a vocation rather than a job remains the basic principle that motivates doctors. Nevertheless, over the last two decades, there has been an erosion of their authority and an inability to fulfil the best care they can provide with successive cuts to the NHS and a relative salary reduction. That festering discontentment likely spurred many doctors to seek a route to express their feelings by taking IA. Nevertheless, for many, the ethical turmoil of potentially causing harm to patients from withdrawing services cannot be overemphasised. The conflict between professional duty and personal gain is at its acutest at such times. &#x0D; It remains to be seen how this will be reflected in campaign turnouts and on the picket line. Ultimately, full-blown strike action is neither in doctors' nor the government's interest. Patients have long memories, especially as many are still reeling from the injustices of the pandemic, albeit doctors and others on the front line were celebrated as heroes. The media has little regard for the legal case of strikes or any ethical basis. They will record events for posterity, ensuring that stories on both sides are personalised and sensationalised. The real casualty in this could be the NHS, which is yet again at the forefront for the wrong reasons. On the other hand, the doctors’ strike actions and those of others in healthcare might, in part, hope that these would wake the public to defend an institution at the highest risk in its 75 years since Aneurin Bevan gave birth to it.</jats:p

2020- To the Brink and Back

Editorial look at the year 2020 on policy, people and how the world coped.</jats:p

A Rainbow Paper - Tackling inequalities, a neo-liberal order in a world after Corona

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the devastating impact of inequalities that have plagued societies for generations. The timing of the events spiraling from the unlawful killing of an apparently innocent black man in the United States of America led to an uprising of sorts across many countries. It touched the psyche of the people in the UK and came at a time when the British Association of Physicians of Indian origin reaches its 25th anniversary (1996-2021). One of the fundamental visions and values that the organisation was created on, was to promote excellence through equality and diversity. Therefore in its silver jubilee year, BAPIO launches an over-arching Alliance for Equality in Healthcare Professions. The Alliance is tasked to conduct a review of the evidence of differential attainment across the spectrum of healthcare careers, engage with stakeholders from the grassroots to the responsible organisations and finally generate an expert consensus on recommendations for the changes necessary to tackle such inequalities.</jats:p