Dr John Dean DM FRCP

Consultant cardiologist

It’s a black alert, a humanitarian crisis, a major incident, exceptional measures are demanded. Where in the world could this be? Syria? Sudan? Or perhaps a terrorist attack in a major European city? No, it’s just a normal working day at your local hospital in January. No one, even those of us who have served the NHS for a long time (38 years for me) have witnessed anything quite like ...



Debate should be based on facts, not hearsay or ideology

I am normally a good sleeper. But twice this year I have awoken from a peaceful slumber into a nightmare about clowns; it’s always clowns. In one of my nightmares I am a passenger on a plane where the pilot dies and a professional clown with a terrible comb-over and absolutely no experien...

Today I was introduced to someone extraordinary: a newly recruited nurse who is not from continental Europe, but from the UK - Taunton to be more precise. In the hospital where I work 20% of the registered nurses are from overseas, the majority from the European Union (EU). Chatter in the common room is a mongrel mix of Spanish, Italian, Greek and even Catalonian. To help them communicate with our local population I hav...

According to a recent European study, I am one of the 4%; I do it every day (well, almost every day). If you never do it, you are amongst the majority of UK residents (69%). In Holland the picture is strikingly different, 27% do it every day and only 13% never do it. I am referring to cycling, of course. But why on earth would anyone want to cycle on West Country roads? Well, I’ll tell you why I do it.