irene leonard

Reluctant tweeter but we have to give the real issues space to be heard.
Retweets are not an endorsement

[Rhianna ریانا @Rhianna_1989]

There’s an uncomfortable truth in medicine that shouldn’t be at all controversial:

Training matters. Scope matters. Depth of knowledge matters.

Many non doctor healthcare workers are exceptionally good at what they do. They can assess, treat, follow protocols and manage defined clinical pathways with enormous skill. However, they practice what I refer to as cookbook medicine, that is, they know what they are doing exceedingly well, but not often *why* they are doing it.

Because protocols are, by definition, designed around recognisable patterns.

Medicine becomes difficult when the patient doesn’t follow the algorithm.

When the presentation is atypical.
When several diseases overlap.
When the obvious diagnosis is wrong.
When the treatment that usually works could harm this patient.
When you need to know not only what to do, but *why* and what else might be going on.

That is where breadth and depth of medical training matter.

This is not disrespectful to nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, physician associates, combat medics or any other healthcare professional. Every profession brings expertise that doctors do not possess, and good healthcare depends on all of us.

But competence in one scope is not competence in another.

Doctors spend years studying basic science, pathology, pharmacology, diagnosis and clinical medicine, followed by years of *supervised practice and exposure to thousands of patients*. That training exists for a reason.

Professionalism is not pretending those differences don’t exist.

Professionalism is recognising the limits of your competence, working within your scope, and escalating when a patient needs expertise beyond it.

That protects clinicians. More importantly, it protects patients.

Want a broader scope of medical practice? Get the training. Go get qualified. Pass the examinations. Acquire the supervised clinical experience. Take on the corresponding responsibility and accountability.

There are no shortcuts to becoming a doctor I’m afraid.

And patients should never be the experiment used to pretend otherwise.

[Neena Jha @DrNeenaJha]

I would be horrified if my named consultant wasn’t a doctor?!

I’d feel hoodwinked & frightened for my care

Whether this person has been a nurse for 1 yr or 30 yrs makes, has a PhD/CPD etc, makes NO difference

They are NOT doctors!

As a patient, I do NOT consent for this!

[Hanstosky 🇸🇻 🇷🇺 @PlayeroNativo]

Ya notaron que ahora que EE.UU. ha robado todo el oro y el petróleo de Venezuela ya no hay lanchas de drogas y todos los problemas del país han desaparecido mágicamente de las noticias?

[The BMA @TheBMA]

Patients are being blocked from specialist care.

A new report from the NHS safety watchdog found evidence that patients were harmed when hospital referrals were pushed back instead of accepted.

We continue to argue for an urgent review of a system that puts patients at risk.

[irene leonard @enquiron]

Enough is enough. Devastating wildfires are threatening our communities, our wildlife, and our landscapes 🌳 We need the UK Gov to back our amazing fire fighters and invest in a real national wildfire prevention plan. Join me and sign the petition here: https://t.co/Yktfaw1ZMt

[Jordan Chain @_pblanknews]

Catherine Austin Fitts: "No One is Prepared for What's Coming"

Catherine Austin Fitts argues that powerful entities in Washington are 'absolutely committed to poisoning' the American people through the food supply and pharmaceuticals, citing the failure of reform efforts as proof. She observes a growing global and generational movement away from centralized, corrupt systems—what she calls the 'diseased animal'—towards decentralized, analog, and local solutions. This includes younger generations rejecting digital surveillance for physical media and in-person connection.

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

A simple strip of wildflowers can dramatically reduce the need for chemical pesticides. So why aren’t they standard on every farm?

Farmers are increasingly planting colorful wildflower strips within and around their fields because these habitats attract beneficial insects that naturally control crop pests.

Ladybugs are the most familiar example. Both adult ladybugs and their larvae are voracious predators of aphids, small sap-sucking insects that damage crops. A single ladybug can eat dozens of aphids a day, while its larvae can consume hundreds before reaching adulthood.

Yet ladybugs are just the beginning. Wildflower strips also draw in hoverflies, lacewings, parasitic wasps, and predatory beetles, all highly effective natural enemies of common pests such as aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and caterpillars.

This approach is known as conservation biological control. Rather than releasing predators into fields, farmers create permanent habitats that support and boost populations of beneficial insects already present in the landscape.

The flowers supply essential nectar and pollen that many of these insects need as adults. Research shows that access to such resources significantly increases their lifespan, reproductive success, and pest-hunting efficiency.

Some parasitic wasps offer an especially impressive form of control: they lay eggs inside aphids or caterpillars, and their developing larvae consume the pest from the inside out.

Multiple studies confirm that fields with wildflower strips support far higher numbers of beneficial insects and achieve stronger natural pest suppression compared to conventional fields.

Beyond pest control, these strips provide additional benefits: they support pollinators, enhance biodiversity, reduce soil erosion, and create valuable wildlife habitat within agricultural areas.

Scientists are now fine-tuning which flower species work best for different crops and climates, aiming to design the most effective and practical wildflower strips possible.

[irene leonard @enquiron]

https://t.co/EUV0hUJi8Q

[@artdecolady #StarmerOut #ItWasAScam @Teresa_Peckham]

@ProfHall1955 One thing I know is that universities like Sheffield, which is heavily involved in arms development and production, is not going to allow dissent which endangers their investment and funding.

[Steve Hall @ProfHall1955]

Funny and true, and the affair has drawn ugly racists out of the woodwork. But what we're missing is that the western university system is intrinsically and irredeemably corrupt. Why? Because it's marketised. Its incentives are monetised, its impartiality is impossible and it encourages competitive individualism and opportunism.

[Steve Hall @ProfHall1955]

What was I saying about the US creditor class with its MIC/tech infrastructure being an organised crime syndicate?

[Steve Hall @ProfHall1955]

Michael Hudson on debt, oligarchy, addictive money-love and the coming financial crash. https://t.co/UfUzqUScrf

[Steve Hall @ProfHall1955]

Stocks, shares, bonds, currencies, gold, crypto.... up, down, up, down, up, down, down, down, crash!... up, down, up, down.... we cannot run a sane, stable productive economy serving human needs on the 'confidence' of grubby gamblers seeking free money.

[Steve Hall @ProfHall1955]

Those such as myself who pointed out a power network behind Cofnas were ridiculed as conspiracy theorists. Now the big, stupid US state at the centre of the network wades in like Biff Tannen to threaten a Belgian university wanting rid of a postdoc 'race scientist'. Dark times.

[caroline wheeler @cazjwheeler]

Exclusive: The MP who oversaw moves to remove the names of parliamentary staff from the public record was forced to apologise for failing to declare that he was employing his own wife.

Alberto Costa, chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, failed to declare his wife’s employment while speaking in a debate about the staff register.

Six months later, the committee he chairs agreed that staff names should no longer be published - a move critics warn will make it harder to expose conflicts of interest, lobbying and foreign influence in Westminster.

The row comes at an awkward time for Costa’s committee, which is responsible for judging whether MPs have broken Parliament’s rules and could ultimately be called on to rule on whether Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has done so. For a body charged with holding other MPs to the highest standards, the credibility of its own chairman is likely to come under particular scrutiny.

Story 👇

[irene leonard @enquiron]

https://t.co/xzy0AQwKRP

[irene leonard @enquiron]

EXCLUSIVE: “shoddy” Cofnas was unfit for his Uni job say colleagues – months before Arday attack https://t.co/iO80cpRxdK

[Ian Greenwood @IanGreenwood6]

Politics Home | Good growth in every postcode means building homes - and the workforce to deliver them https://t.co/jFvHDDrJ61

[Ian Greenwood @IanGreenwood6]

‘The human cost of a hospital trust under pressure’….NHS has been in real terms systematically defunded for years. Through neoliberal economic dogma and ideological predilection for private health that has continued under Labour. Refund. Renationalise now https://t.co/mmYpBFtd7n

[irene leonard @enquiron]

https://t.co/OzSXFKT2Zp