Archive for 'Health'
Undue ‘switch bashing’ or a genuine concern?
Posted on 06. May, 2009 by NW1er.
It’s no surprise that mystery shopping journalists from publications such as the Sunday Telegraph and Daily Star Sunday have donned their anoraks with the launch of Alli and set forth to test pharmacies – the same was true when simvastatin 10 mg switched. I don’t object to this type of investigative journalism, because if something [...]
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Swine flu cyberpandemic
Posted on 01. May, 2009 by phaedrus.
As broadcast and print news report the steady movement of swine flu around the globe, the outbreak of online coverage, mainly in the form of blogging, is spreading at an even faster rate. I can understand why this news story is one that the online community has taken up in this way. It is an [...]
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A Problem Shared
Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by chiantichiara.
Here’s your starter for 10: what do Pfizer, Celgene, Novartis, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson all have in common? Nope, they are not all merging together to form one giant global pharma company. In the current climate that would be a very good guess, but it’s not right. Clue? Two words – negotiation and consultation. [...]
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Hot under the collar
Posted on 01. Apr, 2009 by neilcrump.
I am writing this post from a busy internet café in a beautiful European capital city. The only thing is that I haven’t had a chance to see the city yet because as ever, I am working with my lovely client team at a congress, and in fact, the internet café is in the middle [...]
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PR Mum – Growing pains
Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by PR Mum.
26 March 2009 After the bliss of half term without the rotters, we’re back in the swing of the spring school term. I feel smug in the knowledge that the PE kit has been taken to school on the correct day each week and we’re ahead of the game on the dinner money front. All [...]
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I am stopping TB!
Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 by Ze Frollein.
24 March 2009 is World Tuberculosis Day – a day to raise awareness of a disease that we most likely associate with the past or countries far ashore. However, looking back, I remember a number of articles bringing the tuberculosis topic much closer to home. An article, published by BBC Online, reported increasing TB figures [...]
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Who’s got the Blues?
Posted on 23. Mar, 2009 by Ze Frollein.
A recent story in The Sun reported a strong connection between colours and their impact on our health. Colours can affect our memory, mental agility, reaction times and even our physical strength, according to researchers at the University of Essex. Interestingly, it was found that a vibrant red can increase a person’s confidence and may [...]
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Give the NHS credit where it is due
Posted on 04. Mar, 2009 by Claire.
As a huge fan of the NHS and all it stands for, I was delighted to see that the Financial Times last Friday acknowledged that the NHS in England has hit most of its waiting list targets for hospital treatment – targets which were thought to be extremely ambitious when first set by the Government [...]
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Aurora top 20 – February 2009
Posted on 03. Mar, 2009 by phaedrus.
February, as ever, brings us St Valentine’s Day and everyone in the Aurora office has been feeling the love since the birth of our new I love PR campaign. But matters of the heart are not the only ones with which we are concerned. We keep an eye on all areas of anatomical and mental [...]
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On your bike
Posted on 02. Mar, 2009 by phaedrus.
As every New Year dawns, millions of people tell themselves and others that they will improve their lives in some way, more often than not, in terms of their health. A really effective way of doing this is by taking up cycling. Hours spent travelling in a busy week are unavoidable and often seen as [...]
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PR Mum – Hostage transfer and repatriation completed
Posted on 26. Feb, 2009 by PR Mum.
26 February 2009 As predicted, half term was bliss. The rotters were successfully transferred to the grandparents during a hostage exchange at a glamorous Little Chef on the M4. Once we had waved them goodbye, we sped back to London to enjoy P&Q, nights out and uninterrupted sleep. While our energy levels soared over the [...]
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Sex, sight and sound
Posted on 24. Feb, 2009 by NW1er.
I couldn’t sleep last night so was fiddling with my Blackberry in bed – sad, I know. I came across the iGoogle function, which allows you to have a personalised news stream to your Blackberry. Great, because you only get three or so main news stories on the BBC mobile site. iGoogle feeds the top [...]
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Better safe than sorry
Posted on 20. Feb, 2009 by chiantichiara.
I read an interesting letter in The Times about the negative consequences of the NHS Breast Screening Programme. To be honest, I was slightly taken aback by the title as I didn’t think there was anything downbeat that could be said of a service that saves 1,400 lives every year. However, according to a group [...]
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Scare tactics or softly, softly?
Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by Claire.
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible – Voltaire The news last week that teen pregnancies in the UK are at the lowest rate in 20 years, but are still the highest in Europe, was somewhat overshadowed by the uncannily timed birth of baby Maisie to parents Alfie, 13 and Chantelle, 15, which stole [...]
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Unintended consequences
Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by NW1er.
To celebrate Darwin’s 200th birthday, Professor Sir David King, formerly the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, and Professor Richard Dawkins, all round advocate of science, delivered a riveting presentation on, “Can British science rise to the new challenges of the 21st Century?” I was fortunate enough to get tickets for this event so took a trip [...]
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Rats in your popcorn
Posted on 13. Feb, 2009 by neilcrump.
With £10 million of counterfeit drugs being purchased each year in the UK (and the figures predicted to rise significantly) the ‘fake medicine, real danger’ campaign was initiated by Pfizer to tackle this dangerous problem. The cinema ad, that is certificate 15, is really hard hitting (a rodent being pulled out of a chap’s mouth [...]
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What’s in a name?
Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by neilcrump.
‘The Changing Shape of Healthcare Communications’ report published by the Healthcare Communications Association (HCA) identified four drivers that are leading to diversification in practice; namely, economic pressures, political climate, a changing regulatory environment and pharmaceutical industry reputation. The report identifies that we are moving towards a much broader definition of communications that goes beyond classical [...]
