The title of this post comes from a recent story on the CSP's website, celebrating the success of a physiotherapist, Lucy Cassidy, who took the main prize at this year’s Advancing Healthcare awards. Her prize was for the development of a virtual fracture clinic at Brighton and Sussex University Trust. In responding to the prize, Lucy commented that "It’s difficult to innovate in the NHS because of financial constraints, and entrepreneurship is often about trying to find a win-win situation with the private sector to support new services." This got me thinking about why it is that the public sector should so often be thought of as such a moribund place for innovation and … [Read more...] about It’s difficult to innovate in the NHS
Physiotherapy is part of the debt we pay when things go wrong
English law once included a principal that the thing that had caused accidental death or injury - the carving knife that had accidentally chopped off the finger, or the carriage that trampled the person's leg - should be surrendered to God in recognition of its part in causing harm or suffering. This 'thing' was called a deodand and it existed in law from around 1200AD until it was abolished in 1846. The object would be surrendered to the crown and used or sold to compensate for the harm done. William Pietz said that 'any culture must establish some procedure of compensation, expiation, or punishment to settle the debt created by unintended human deaths whose direct cause is not a … [Read more...] about Physiotherapy is part of the debt we pay when things go wrong
beyond the machine: a panel debate hosted by the Institute of Art & Ideas
The Insitute of Art & Ideas is a not-for-profit organisation that was founded in 2008 to put philosophy & critical thinking into the heart of public life (follow this link to find more about the organisation & the exciting things they're doing). One way the IAI achieves this is by hosting cutting edge debates & talks from thought leaders from a wide range of disciplines & backgrounds. Beyond the Machine - metaphors of the body From Descartes’ view of the heart as a pump to Dennett’s conception of the brain as a computer, our understanding of the body is permeated with mechanical metaphors. Is it an error to believe that the body is a machine? Should we find a new … [Read more...] about beyond the machine: a panel debate hosted by the Institute of Art & Ideas