According to the United Nations, 2024 was the deadliest year for humanitarian workers recorded in recent history. From Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine to Myanmar, humanitarian and healthcare workers are targeted in direct violation of international law.

This episode features Medical Ethics Committee Chair, Dr Andy Green, and International Committee Chair, Dr Kitty Mohan.

They discuss how working to protect healthcare internationally goes hand-in-hand with the BMA’s work as a trade union to protect healthcare within the UK. They also share testimonies from the BMA’s powerful new report, ‘Medicine under attack’, that analyses the current rise in attacks on medical facilities and personnel, and how this undermining of healthcare has ripple effects on population health.

Lastly, Dr Mohan and Dr Green discuss what we can do to pressure governments, institutions and medical associations to uphold the protections afforded to healthcare under international law.

Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence from 14:30 to 15:28.

This episode is accompanied by the article ‘Caring under fire’ by Tim Tonkin, featured in The Doctor.

You can read the article here:

https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/health-society/caring-under-fire/

You can read the BMA’s ‘Medicine under attack’ report here:

https://www.bma.org.uk/what-we-do/working-internationally/our-international-work/medicine-under-attack-the-increasing-assault-on-healthcare-in-conflict-zones

For more stories from The Doctor, follow @TheDrMagazine on X (formerly Twitter), or visit thedoctor.bma.org.uk.

This podcast is produced by the British Medical Association – for more information visit bma.org.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Working in healthcare in remote and rural areas is often sold to doctors as a chance to live and practise in beautiful surroundings with plenty of opportunity for outdoor activities. But it’s about much more than that.

This episode of The Doctor podcast, brought to you by the British Medical Association, builds on the feature Special job, special people – now they need specialty status by Jennifer Trueland.

Dr Pauline Wilson, a consultant physician in Shetland, and Dr Neil Shepherd, a GP in Orkney and a rural emergency physician in Caithness General Hospital in Wick discuss the challenges and the joys of working in remote and rural areas – and the qualities that make a good rural doctor.

They also talk about a new credential that perhaps is a baby step on the way to rural and remote medicine becoming a specialty in its own right.

For more stories from The Doctor, follow @TheDrMagazine on X/Twitter, or visit thedoctor.bma.org.uk

Read the full episode transcript at https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A medical environment can be overwhelming for any patient, but to those who are neurodivergent, the sensory challenges involved can be enough to put them off obtaining the healthcare they need.

In recognition of the barriers to care faced by these patients, some doctors are attempting to change the way medical treatment in their workplaces are delivered in an effort to become more inclusive and effective.

Welcome to the sixth episode of The Doctor podcast, brought to you by the British Medical Association.

In this episode, Dr. Giles Armstrong and Dr. Sarah Davies discuss their efforts to make the NHS more accessible for autistic patients.

They share personal experiences, insights, and practical steps they have taken to improve healthcare, including enrolling their workplaces in a specialised award scheme provided by the National Autistic Society.

This episode builds on the feature article ‘Sensory overload – making the NHS more accessible for autistic patients', by Tim Tonkin.

You don’t need to have read the article to enjoy this episode but if you’d like to do so you can find it at: https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/health-society/sensory-overload-making-the-nhs-more-accessible-for-autistic-patients/

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also be interested in the following articles, on related topics:

• https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/life-at-work/more-than-able/
• https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/health-society/the-other-lesser-health-service/

For more information on the organisations mentioned in this episode see below

• National Autistic Society: https://www.autism.org.uk
• Oliver McGowan Training: https://www.olivermcgowan.org.uk

For more stories from The Doctor, follow @TheDrMagazine on X/Twitter, or visit thedoctor.bma.org.uk

Read the full episode transcript at https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.