Diana Brahams - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Diana Brahams
Medico-Legal Journal, 2005
Medico-Legal Journal
Medico-legal work is an interface between two of the oldest professions, medicine and law, and re... more Medico-legal work is an interface between two of the oldest professions, medicine and law, and requires close and often finely detailed communication. However, it is apparent at times that they may use language differently leading to confusion. This is particularly important in court proceedings where the medical personnel may be giving evidence in a case as a professional or expert witness. The communication problems may be partly the result of certain important differences in the tasks each professional has to carry out in any given case.
Medico-Legal Journal
The current plague, the coronavirus, is killing and damaging normal ways of life around the world... more The current plague, the coronavirus, is killing and damaging normal ways of life around the world in a way unprecedented for those of us who are less than a hundred years old. It is not new to mankind throughout the ages but with this ease of spread and a death rate of between 0.5% and 10%, it is more like wartime. The enemy is here, all around us, and perhaps even within our family. There are no air raid sirens and no bomb shelters but we do have defence systems of major shutdown, self-isolation and sterilisation techniques. The problems resulting affect us personally, socially, nationally and internationally. There are already agreed changes to social rules and laws. Those above 70 must self-isolate, most especially if they have underlying health problems and many (but not all) do. People involved in health care looking after us can now, very reasonably, get their food supplies without competition from the rest of society. At the start it looked likely that at some point rationing would have to be introduced but as panic stockpiling has more or less ceased and shops limit what one buyer can order or take away, the situation has eased. Cafes, bars, shops selling non-essentials have had to close along with so much else with serious implications, most of all for their owners and staff, but also for their customers. These are changes in social rules but there are also rising threats both of criminal behaviour and behaviour which might be considered criminal. There is current warning that we should not leave visible supplies that many others desperately want but find difficult to obtain. This might include toilet rolls, sterilising substances and indeed food. There is sadly high risk that some antisocial people may start stealing individually or indeed from storage in order to set up a black market. What will happen if people do not keep to the rules for control of virus spreading? If someone sneezes on food and then sells it infected, is that murder? Undoubtedly there will be a spur to laws affecting commercial systems with businesses having to close and production having to be stopped or modified because of the risk of disease spread. Within health care will there be issues about competence and negligence if a treated person dies? We should all do whatever we can to assist in identifying and resolving problems from the interface between medicine and law. The Medico-Legal Journal
The Lancet
CONCLUSION Much interest is being shown in the problems of old people but vague statements of goo... more CONCLUSION Much interest is being shown in the problems of old people but vague statements of good intent are insufficient. We need to agree on objectives, and on indicators that can be used to monitor progress. Furthermore, we need to express our indicators not simply as numbers but as rates, just as we use rates (vaccination rates, infant mortality rates) to improve child health. Finally, it is not enough for any health authority to consider its own rates in isolation. To monitor progress over a period of time is useful, but more telling is a comparison of progress with that in other areas and other countries. The 1981 Census gives people working in the United Kingdom an accurate denominator on which to calculate rates; let us use it to set a baseline, agree on objectives, and audit our services for elderly people as a means of improving effectiveness and efficiency and, most important of all, the quality of life of older people.
Psychiatric Bulletin
In November 1980, two men, Mackenny and Pinfold, were convicted at the Old Bailey on several coun... more In November 1980, two men, Mackenny and Pinfold, were convicted at the Old Bailey on several counts of murder which were of a particularly callous and brutal nature. They were sentenced to life imprisonmenL In the preceding December (1979) another man, Childs, had pleaded guilty to all the murders with which Mackenny and Pinfold had been charged, and which he alleged had been carried out with
The Lancet
techniques, "the lowest mortality is associated with the condom or diaphragm backed up (in case o... more techniques, "the lowest mortality is associated with the condom or diaphragm backed up (in case of failure) by early abortion." But this statement is missing from, for example, the pages on the contraceptive tablet 'Ortho-Novum' in the 1989 PDR. As revised under the direction of the Food and
The Medico Legal Journal, Feb 1, 2006
Medico-Legal Journal, 2005
Medico-Legal Journal
Medico-legal work is an interface between two of the oldest professions, medicine and law, and re... more Medico-legal work is an interface between two of the oldest professions, medicine and law, and requires close and often finely detailed communication. However, it is apparent at times that they may use language differently leading to confusion. This is particularly important in court proceedings where the medical personnel may be giving evidence in a case as a professional or expert witness. The communication problems may be partly the result of certain important differences in the tasks each professional has to carry out in any given case.
Medico-Legal Journal
The current plague, the coronavirus, is killing and damaging normal ways of life around the world... more The current plague, the coronavirus, is killing and damaging normal ways of life around the world in a way unprecedented for those of us who are less than a hundred years old. It is not new to mankind throughout the ages but with this ease of spread and a death rate of between 0.5% and 10%, it is more like wartime. The enemy is here, all around us, and perhaps even within our family. There are no air raid sirens and no bomb shelters but we do have defence systems of major shutdown, self-isolation and sterilisation techniques. The problems resulting affect us personally, socially, nationally and internationally. There are already agreed changes to social rules and laws. Those above 70 must self-isolate, most especially if they have underlying health problems and many (but not all) do. People involved in health care looking after us can now, very reasonably, get their food supplies without competition from the rest of society. At the start it looked likely that at some point rationing would have to be introduced but as panic stockpiling has more or less ceased and shops limit what one buyer can order or take away, the situation has eased. Cafes, bars, shops selling non-essentials have had to close along with so much else with serious implications, most of all for their owners and staff, but also for their customers. These are changes in social rules but there are also rising threats both of criminal behaviour and behaviour which might be considered criminal. There is current warning that we should not leave visible supplies that many others desperately want but find difficult to obtain. This might include toilet rolls, sterilising substances and indeed food. There is sadly high risk that some antisocial people may start stealing individually or indeed from storage in order to set up a black market. What will happen if people do not keep to the rules for control of virus spreading? If someone sneezes on food and then sells it infected, is that murder? Undoubtedly there will be a spur to laws affecting commercial systems with businesses having to close and production having to be stopped or modified because of the risk of disease spread. Within health care will there be issues about competence and negligence if a treated person dies? We should all do whatever we can to assist in identifying and resolving problems from the interface between medicine and law. The Medico-Legal Journal
The Lancet
CONCLUSION Much interest is being shown in the problems of old people but vague statements of goo... more CONCLUSION Much interest is being shown in the problems of old people but vague statements of good intent are insufficient. We need to agree on objectives, and on indicators that can be used to monitor progress. Furthermore, we need to express our indicators not simply as numbers but as rates, just as we use rates (vaccination rates, infant mortality rates) to improve child health. Finally, it is not enough for any health authority to consider its own rates in isolation. To monitor progress over a period of time is useful, but more telling is a comparison of progress with that in other areas and other countries. The 1981 Census gives people working in the United Kingdom an accurate denominator on which to calculate rates; let us use it to set a baseline, agree on objectives, and audit our services for elderly people as a means of improving effectiveness and efficiency and, most important of all, the quality of life of older people.
Psychiatric Bulletin
In November 1980, two men, Mackenny and Pinfold, were convicted at the Old Bailey on several coun... more In November 1980, two men, Mackenny and Pinfold, were convicted at the Old Bailey on several counts of murder which were of a particularly callous and brutal nature. They were sentenced to life imprisonmenL In the preceding December (1979) another man, Childs, had pleaded guilty to all the murders with which Mackenny and Pinfold had been charged, and which he alleged had been carried out with
The Lancet
techniques, "the lowest mortality is associated with the condom or diaphragm backed up (in case o... more techniques, "the lowest mortality is associated with the condom or diaphragm backed up (in case of failure) by early abortion." But this statement is missing from, for example, the pages on the contraceptive tablet 'Ortho-Novum' in the 1989 PDR. As revised under the direction of the Food and
The Medico Legal Journal, Feb 1, 2006