Category: Dodgy Practice

The man-made nature of law, both common and statute, means that it can have many if not all of the attributes of man. It can be great and just, just as it can be weak and flawed. And it can be abused – and nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the tragic case of Kerrie Wooltorton…

In the Good Old Days, NFN (Normal For Norfolk) was medical shorthand used to describe a patient who appeared peculiar, or odd. It now appears that NFN may apply not only to patients, but to other goings on in the good county of Norfolk.

For some time, Dr No has been troubled by a particular aspect of the suicide of Kerrie Wooltorton. It is an aspect that has received little coverage, perhaps because it is a complex and murky area, but it is nonetheless important. It is counter­transference, and how it may have influenced Wooltorton’s treatment, even to the extent that it may have contributed to her death.

To most people, screening for medical conditions is simple – a bit like taking a car for an MOT. You catch things in time, and fix them before they go seriously wrong. Often it is like that, but sometimes it is not so simple; and there are even times when screening can be bad medicine.

The news that Michael Jackson’s physician, Dr Conrad Murray, is to be charged with manslaughter for allegedly killing Jacko with an anaesthetic called propofol raises many questions – not least of which is why was propofol being used in the first place?