When you need the NHS, how can you make sure you get the best possible care? Have you ever thought about what you could do to influence and improve the quality of care you receive when using the NHS? Or do you just turn up hoping that the healthcare professional in front of you diagnoses and treats you accurately and in your best interests? Have you ever walked away from an appointment none the wiser, disappointed, confused or angry? Or worse – have you been mis-diagnosed or had unnecessary treatment? The NHS is something we all rely on. We hope that it will deliver the best possible service when we or our loved ones fall ill. It is regarded as a shining example and world leader in healthcare provision, but, in recent years, its reputation has been severely tarnished. Successive scandals have revealed shocking levels of care, harm, neglect, cover-ups and unnecessary deaths. If these multiple revelations have taught us anything it is that we have to be prepared - and able - to take personal responsibility to influence the quality of care we receive. Either we enable ourselves to rise to this challenge or risk becoming another unfortunate statistic. NHS Please Don't Kill Me! is a guide to help you receive the best possible care. By outlining the prevalent cultural and behavioural issues, it provides readers with essential skills and ideas that could reduce error and potentially save lives. It is an honest, transparent and factual book that reflects the real experiences of many people, including the authors.

Ready for more? Well here's volume 4! 500 more pages of one of the longest running independent comics in history!

Rachel Haynes survived bowel cancer, not once, but twice. There have been many unexpected consequences … this is her story. Exploring the ups and downs of treatment with sensitivity, humour and brutal honesty, Rachel reflects on the psychological impacts of survival not only on herself but on those who have supported her. Being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer while bringing up two growing children, holding down a full time job, going through a break-up and having three days to adjust to a life-changing operation is far from ideal. Add to this a short period of remission, a new relationship, followed by an unexpected relapse and the whole thing starting again, and you know you are going to be in for an interesting read.

This reference identifies and explains the cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the filmMonty Python’s Meaning of Life, the Pythons’ third and final original feature as a complete group. In this resource, virtually every allusion and reference that appears in the film is identified and explained —from Britain’s waning Empire through the Winter of Discontent to Margaret Thatcher’s second-term mandate, from playing fields to battle fields, and from accountant pirates to sacred sperm. Organized chronologically by scene, the entries cover literary and metaphoric allusions, symbolisms, names, peoples, and places; as well as the many social, cultural, and historical elements that populate this film, and the Pythons’ work in general.

“He (Briton) is a barbarian, and believes that the customs of his tribe and Island are the laws of nature.” – George Bernard Shaw “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” – Sir Winston Churchill Corroborating the words of George Bernard Shaw, Sir Winston Churchill implied that the average Briton was indeed a moron. Also supporting Churchill’s observation is the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which found that young adults in England are amongst the least literate and numerate in the industrialised world. Mediocre Great England, the latest book by Yinka Bamgbelu, criticizes the legal system in Britain as well as the racism found in its institutions. “The highest reach of injustice is to be deemed just when you are not.” – Plato “Lies are told in criminal cases. Lies are told in civil cases. Lies are told all the time.” – Sir Michael Havers, Attorney General, 1980 “I don’t think anyone will dispute that lots and lots of people are denied justice.” – Sir David Napley The entire book is a letter to Dr Anand Kamath, a 42-year-old dentist who was seemingly and mercilessly hounded to death by white-collar racist thugs. Dr Stephanie Twidale, another dentist, could not spell and could not write legibly, unrelentingly lied under oath. What is the value of an illegible record by a dishonest, semi-illiterate expert? Any legal system, Third World included, which tolerates dishonesty under oath is intellectually flawed and unsafe. Competent administration of the law is an inviolable fundamental right. “This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.” – Plato

Jack Mawgan is about to fulfill his ambition to become a qualified paramedic when an incident involving a young Muslim found naked on a Cornish road in broad daylight draws him into the sinister world of 'Extraordinary Rendition'. This campaign was run by the US security services and involved their operatives in torture in their search for information about Al Qaeda's activities. Jack's involvement sets off a chain of events that leads him to the depths of the African interior in pursuit of a self-proclaimed jihadist fomenting rebellion and heavily involved in the drugs trade.

Global warming will either grab your interest or see you running in the opposite direction. But there is another way. It is a truth that is never realized, a truth that cannot surface once buried in the media and in politicians’ singlespeak, and a truth that is tantalizingly beyond your reach. How to Kill an Elephant exposes this truth for all to see, yet this is not a book about global warming; it is a book about human nature exposed for all its inadequacies. It starts with elephants, inexorably being driven to extinction by elephants of our own creation. Where does it finish? That’s for you to decide. Fancy a cane toad sandwich washed down with a cup of tea? Have you ever seen stalactites playing chess? You can expect a deadly serious read with a soupçon of levity and straightforward humour, because life really is too short not to indulge a little.

"This book is a comprehensive but highly accessible examination of the past, present and possible future of managing patient data. The reader is introduced to the layers of computing that will fit together to create a single patient record. Patient security and confidentiality are discussed, along with the practical issues surrounding the introduction of the programme."--BOOK JACKET.

'A delight . . . a glorious, witty and life-affirming ragbag of autobiography, cultural commentary and hard-won wisdom.' ANDREW TAYLOR, author of The Shadows of London 'Perceptive, wise and illuminating . . . an unmissable farewell.' Barry Forshaw, FINANCIAL TIMES 'The most hilarious, life-affirming book you’ll read this year.' SAGA magazine 'Wit and wisdom that make every page turn . . . what a fine talent the world has lost.' STARBURST This is the memoir Christopher Fowler always wanted to write about 'writing'. It's the story of how a young bookworm growing up in a house where there was nothing to read but knitting pamphlets and motorcycle manuals became a writer - a 'word monkey' - and pursued a sort of career in popular fiction. And it's a book full of brilliant insights into the pleasures and pitfalls of his profession, dos and don'ts for would-be writers, and astute observations on favourite (and not-so-favourite) novelists. But woven into this hugely entertaining and inspiring reflection on a literary life is an altogether darker thread. In Spring 2020, just as the world went into lockdown, Chris was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And yet there is nothing of the misery memoir about Word Monkey. Past and present intermingle as, in prose as light as air, he relates with wry humour and remarkable honesty what he knows will be the final chapter in his story. Deeply moving, insightful and surprisingly funny, this is Christopher Fowler's life-affirming account of coming to terms with his own mortality. 'A remarkable book by a remarkable writer: amazingly entertaining and informative and also, for obvious reasons, one of the most moving.' SIMON MASON, author of the DI Wilkins Mysteries 'Wonderful . . . there is no bitterness here, but a hearty celebration of how art defines a life, with dark humour on the right occasions and the deliberate aim to leave a positive message . . . his enthusiasm is infectious and sobering when you are aware that he was dying as he wrote these pages.' Maxim Jacubowski, CRIME TIME

Social prescribing – the connection of people to communities, services and activities to meet their practical, social and emotional needs – has become an increasingly important element of healthcare policy. As debate intensifies over an appropriate national model, this new book provides the first comprehensive overview of the entire concept of social prescribing.Social Prescribing pulls together arguments, evidence and resources to define social prescribing and analyze how it can change lives. It considers a range of paradigms for improving health and wellbeing through social approaches, and provides real-life examples of where the theory has been realized in practice.The book is well-balanced and easy to understand, making it ideal for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policy makers who are interested in exploring the potential of social prescribing for improving health and wellbeing.Editor Heather Henry is former chair of New NHS Alliance (now The Health Creation Alliance CIC), which influences national health strategy and policy on health inequalities and wellbeing. Her NHS career in primary care as both a practising Queen's Nurse and NHS director, combined with her experience of the voluntary community and social enterprise sector, ideally qualifies her to curate and interpret a wide range of contributions from household names to seldom-heard voices. - Presents a balanced approach to the current debates and critiques of social prescribing - Summarises the main arguments with supporting evidence and resources - Covers the history and current policy, and provides a detailed analysis of the evidence base around how social prescribing can improve wellbeing - Offers different paradigms and models of social prescribing, including concepts around power, control, relationships, economics, recognizing strengths and assets, managing complexity, and enabling self-organisation - Includes perspectives from an impressive list of contributors, from eminent thought leaders like Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Lord Gus O'Donnell to local leaders, citizens and voices from all levels in the system - Extends beyond health and care to other sectors that impact the social determinants of health including urgent and emergency services, housing and education - Uses accessible language throughout – suitable for anyone from system leaders to researchers, educators, practitioners and students