Ben Smith

Husband, father to two boys, consultant anaesthetist and now associate medical director @ROHNHSFT and amateur triathlete, non branded Ironman finisher!

[Jack Dart @JackWDart]

If people genuinely believe Burnham won’t receive the exact same media onslaught, they’ve not been paying attention.

Starmer is not, objectively, bad. This idea that he is somehow the worst PM in British history is frankly laughable.

Liz truss lasted 49 days, crashed the pound and was laughed out of Downing Street.

Since Labour took office, Keir Starmer’s government has:

• Scrapped the two-child benefit limit, lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and putting money back into some of the hardest-pressed households in the country.

• Expanded free school meals, cutting costs for families and making sure more children get a proper meal during the school day.

• Expanded funded childcare, reducing one of the biggest monthly costs facing working parents and making it easier for people to stay in work.

• Raised the National Living Wage, increasing pay for millions of low-paid workers.

• Strengthened workers’ rights, giving people greater protection against insecure work and bad employers.

• Introduced statutory sick pay from the first day of illness, so workers are less likely to choose between their health and their wages.

• Ended no-fault evictions, giving renters more security in their homes.

• Brought rail operators back into public ownership, taking key services out of failed private hands and giving the public a stronger stake in how they are run.

• Cut NHS waiting lists from their post-pandemic peak, meaning more patients are being seen sooner.

• Raised the state pension through the triple lock, protecting pensioners’ incomes against rising costs.

• Scrapped the old non-dom tax regime, making some of the wealthiest people in the country pay more fairly.

• Added VAT to private school fees, raising money from those most able to contribute.

• Removed business rates relief from private schools, ending an unjustified tax break.

• Increased neighbourhood policing, putting more officers and PCSOs back into communities.

• Helped bring knife crime down, meaning fewer families face the devastation of serious violence.

• Recorded the lowest homicide rate since the 1970s, a material improvement in public safety.

• Created Great British Energy, giving Britain a publicly owned clean energy company.

• Created the National Wealth Fund, backing investment in industry, infrastructure and clean energy.

• Passed planning reforms aimed at getting homes and major projects built faster.

• Improved relations with the EU, reducing diplomatic hostility and rebuilding practical cooperation.

• Agreed a UK-EU security partnership, strengthening cooperation on defence and European security.

• Signed a long-term partnership with Ukraine, reinforcing Britain’s support against Putin’s invasion.

• Secured new trade agreements, opening up markets for British businesses.

• Helped restore seriousness to government after years of scandal, chaos and decline.

People do not have to like Starmer. They do not have to vote Labour. But pretending this is the record of the worst Prime Minister in British history is absurd.

[Shaun Lintern @ShaunLintern]

🚨 BREAKING: Hip and knee ops across England will be rationed by the NHS as a major supplier of cement used in orthopaedic surgery has suffered an outage that could last months. To protect emergency trauma patients hospitals will be told to prioritise patients by NHSE today:

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

10 weeks to the London Marathon - miserable weather = treadmill half marathon! Raising money for @BCRT

https://t.co/XVo6Hlg6P0

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

@chrisboettcher9 Guide

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

@Alan_Couzens Alan, would you ignore any ‘calories burnt’ in working out a calorie deficit? I’m training for an Ironman so don’t want to under fuel but am also keen on getting leaner!

[The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital @ROHNHSFT]

Day Case/ 23h joint replacements are quickly becoming standard in orthopaedic units across the NHS.

The ROH isn’t different! We already offer Day Case surgeries, but from next week, we’re opening a dedicated ward just for patients who are having primary hip and knee surgeries.

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

@Alan_Couzens @Caprico_Uruk Can a watch number be used to track a trend? So if it’s getting better you’re probably getting fitter?!

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

@gdcuk Hi Graham, is it possible to do one for 2008/2015 members?

[The Journal of Arthroplasty @JArthroplasty]

Over the past decade, rates of transfusion have decreased. As periop blood management protocols improve, preop anemia should be considered an important focus of intervention to reduce the risk of transfusion.

https://t.co/HajVl9ls1J

[Toby @numboblivion]

⏺️Neuraxial anaesthesia reduces neural traffic:

As spinal block matures ➡️decreased activation of medulla ➡️decreased activation of thalamus ➡️ decreased activation cortex ➡️ patient BIS value falls

Often very little propofol needed for sedation (especially elderly)... 2/7

[British Journal of Anaesthesia @BJAJournals]

Perioperative fluid management. New evidence-based consensus recommendations from the international multidisciplinary PeriOperative Quality Initiative #fluids #anaesthesia #surgery

https://t.co/iIfkkcLopi

[Dr Shivam Sharma @DocShivSharma]

@uhbtrust ending locum pay for doctors is an incredibly shortsighted move.

Ridiculous to end locum rates for doctors who are willing to step up when needed most.

@uhbtrust must be aware this will lead to burnout and understaffed wards?

[The Journal of Arthroplasty @JArthroplasty]

Oral carbohydrates at 2-4hr before TKA are safe and can significantly alleviate preop hunger while mitigating postoperative insulin resistance and improving glycemic control in patients who have non–insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes mellitus.

https://t.co/5yKxtjfCLF

[Stefan Smulders @SmuldersStefan]

Attia's journey isn't about death—it's about decline.

As per him, we can prevent decline through:

- Aggressive combination of exercise
- Lifestyle (nutrition/sleep)
- Elements from personalized health care — he calls this Medicine 3.0

Let's get down to it 👇

[Graham Crossley (NHS Pension Wonk) @gdcuk]

🤓: Tip for Accountants

Many worrying about the 31st Jan 2025 deadline

This only applies if there is a new tax charge

You don't need to use the full service to check

You can use existing HMRC AA calc or own spreadsheet to check new charge and compare

https://t.co/amDFFg2Ipj

[The Bone & Joint Journal @BoneJointJ]

A total of 35 patients had spacer-related complications, of which 26 were because of mechanical failure of the spacer construct, while nine were due to recurrence of infection.

#BJJ #Infection #Radiography @Chris_Lodge1

https://t.co/qyuFZg7UcQ

[𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢 @Anaes_Journal]

Modified-release (MR) vs immediate release (IR) opioids

Patients who received MR (vs IR only) following surgery:

• had 2.76-fold higher odds of experiencing an opioid-related adverse event during inpatient stay

• had worse pain during the first 24 h postoperatively

@ShaniaLiu_ @sidpatan @nicholasalevy @justjenstevens @DL08OMD @JonPenm

https://t.co/QbvITrukfP

[Ben Smith @smithy3108]

@MrJDStevenson @orthobullets @somatostatin57 @traumaticum @InvictaOrtho @docfarrow @DrFraneNicholas @stevemchale @FractureDoc @jamesablairMD @DrMarecek @itius @rkh_md Tibial cone!

[Nervecentre Software @nervecentrehq]

9 acute trusts will join the country’s biggest single EPR platform.

Lots of people asked us why at #HETT24. There are several ways to answer that:

1⃣ Everything is together in one place. Everything is mobile

2⃣ Seamless regional data sharing using SaaS will “unlock radical ambitions”

3⃣ Real-time data creates actionable insights in an instant

4⃣ Patient engagement is an integral part of the EPR, not an add-on

It all adds up to a modern EPR platform for a safe, efficient, and sustainable #NHS.

[The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital @ROHNHSFT]

Due to adverse weather, some of our services may be affected. Read updates here: https://t.co/7f53SwiJoN