Today the North Bristol NHS Trust name disappears as part of a new merged trust. I joined NBT early in my career 10 years ago & proudly work here today. It's a symbolic ending of the named place that held years of my professional becoming. A chapter closes, even as the work continues.

Pride is in full bloom.

Episode one of Russel T Davies new show Tip Toe aired last night on C4. A sobering and resonating reminder here about life for LGBTQ+ folks in 2026, delivered through superb writing. www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/tip...

Durham County Council, run by Reform, pulled £2,500 from Durham Pride. But the Durham Miners Association, mindful of the support from LGBT communities during the miners strike, stepped in and, along with other Unions made contributions to make this year’s Durham Pride bigger than ever before. 🏳️‍🌈💪❤️

Lidl has opened a pub in Belfast… this video breaks down the historical religious, legal, and financial reasons behind it youtu.be/HV0wDx3rbD0?...

We should avoid reducing chemsex to simply “bad choices,”, impulsivity, or purely biomedical risk. Instead, aim to understand what need it meets (e.g., connection), what it functions to regulate (e.g., shame), and the individual context (e.g., stigma, trauma). www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

HIV prevention and treatment is a public health matter, not a political one. This is tet another desperate attempt to further divide and scapegoat www.attitude.co.uk/news/nigel-f...

A sad day for Donegal. Rest peacefully Moyà Brennan - the First Lady of Celtic music. youtu.be/YmUxa_nSKZE?...

🩺 A Wise Doctor Once Wrote. <3 Funny Signs (10 Photos): streetartutopia.com/2026/04/11/f...

An impressive win for county Donegal against Kerry in the GAA senior league final in Croke Park today 🔰 Donegal were outstanding last year, but suffered an out-of-character loss at the All Ireland 25. Crushing. When a team can bounce back from the pain of that = a great example of using a loss well.

I’ve always found what Nina said so effing striking. Freedom isn’t happiness, success or comfort. She says it’s when fear no longer rules… to live authentically in a world that often tries to silence, diminish, or endanger people…

This Wolf Alice gig at Laneways Festival gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What a band 📢 Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent ✅ youtu.be/jlWy_fPGBLI?...

If you are part of a university or UK facing research organisation, publisher, funder, learned society and they are still posting on X - they're in a rather uncomfortable minority now. Perhaps point them to the eXit. My piece for the @lseimpactblog.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci... 1/3

Pet Shop Boys Brits Medley-BRIT Awards 2009. #BritAwards www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cjI...

The Spice Girls bringing the energy to the Brit Awards 1997. I was only a wain. First time seeing the Brits. It was the height of ‘spice mania’. It was so exciting 😍 I’m so ready for the Brit Awards 2026 tonight 🤘

The little pockets of space we used to have in the NHS have been gradually redefined as 'waste'. Space to respond well to a dynamic context; space to have MDTs to support good care; space for listening & to hear how everyone's doing. It is not better for everything & everyone to be completely full.

I shared this article with the incredible HIV specialist nurses in our clinic. Like many NHS workers, they ‘do more with less’ - going above and beyond on good will. They bring so much heart to the role. I hope they found this validating. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@england.nhs.uk Many patients - particularly those with histories of trauma, coercion, abuse, stigma, immigration insecurity, or mental health crisis - already carry a baseline fear of surveillance. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

📢 In our latest newsletter: ➡️Welcome to our new Chair, Tim Whittlestone ➡️National HIV Testing Week: where to get tested, plus more sexual health news ➡️ Get involved with NIHR #BePartofResearch Read: mailchi.mp/bristolhealt... Subscribe: bristolhealthpartners.org.uk/newsletter/

I watched ‘I Swear’ & I’m still feeling it in my chest. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful. I’m thinking a lot about the people who didn’t persecute John Davidson-who chose curiosity, steadiness, and support when society rejected him. They gave me relief. 10/10 - do watch! www.imdb.com/title/tt3151...

Finally, a politician prepared to fight against the huge roll in public life being handed over to Palantir by our corrupt govts. Why is Palantir being given NHS contracts? They are reportedly involved with rounding up migrants in the US and targeting mainly civilians in Gaza.

This is v worrying. The NHS Trust I work for have signed a contract to use Palatir’s software. This company is associated with corruption. If you work in the NHS, it is possible to influence the road ahead here notopalantir.goodlawproject.org/email-to-tar...

At Christmas, we often try to summon old feelings, those of joy, warmth, and belonging, as if they can be reactivated on command. But what if we didn’t force it? Christmas doesn’t have to be remembered joy. It can be present truth. This piece really resonated.

A look at the use of aversion (shock) therapy in the NHS to ‘treat homosexuality’ in the 60s and 70s. So frightening. My heart goes out to the survivors of this abuse www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

This World AIDS Day, 1 December, we remember those we’ve lost to HIV. Join with our community to promise, pledge and take a stand for people living with HIV – because it’s more than a ribbon. Donate now. https://www.tht.org.uk/pin

1st Dec is World AIDS Day, seems even more significant this year. HIV in 2025: science surges. Politics lags-funding cuts, rights crackdowns & service disruptions threaten 2030 goals. Progress is real, yet increasingly unequal by country & community. I’ll be wearing my pin in solidarity this year ✊

The Trump administration’s cuts to AIDS funding will result in roughly 3 million additional deaths over the next five years.

Up until the year 2000 it was illegal exist as a sexual minority person in the British Military. LGBT people faced extreme persecution, even imprisonment. Painful. Some people have shared their stories as part of a short BBC documentary www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Participants in the included studies describe sexual and physical violence, verbal abuse, experiencing homelessness, and stigmatisation and discrimination relating to HIV status among the barriers to attendance 2/2

This systematic review of the global qualitative evidence provides a nuanced insight into the complex reasons underlying multiple non-utilisation of healthcare appointments ➡️ doi.org/10.3399/BJGP... 1/2

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

I haven’t been able to put this book down. @drrageshri.bsky.social names, in such a balanced way, so many of the tensions and barriers that exist for medical doctors and patients in the context of the NHS. I’m compelled to keep reading, but I’ll get nothing else done this weekend 😂 Buy this book!

Why is listening important? What makes it hard for us to truly listen to a patient during a consultation? Listen here #HIV #NHS #HIVcare open.spotify.com/episode/2CFQ...

Fewer people faint watching The Exorcist in the cinema in 2025 compared with 1973. It stands the test of time in every way.

A brilliant meta-analysis: social support & integration are the most important predictors of health beyond the conventional physical risks such as smoking, obesity etc (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). Astonishingly, the general public see these as least important (Haslam et al., 2018). Graph ⬇️

Thankfully in the UK we have access to free healthcare through the NHS. Excellent care is provided to the best of our ability with what’s available. But how often do our processes and systems get in the way of genuinely containing the fears of people living with long-term health conditions? EricDane

Bristol, 6.50am😃

“Nobody with any sanity, including myself, would have anything but sympathy for the Palestinian plight.” - Sinead O’Connor

It’s Pride Month. This moving video shows us how much safety can be communicated simply by seeing 🌈 #OsloPride #LGBTQ

"Roughly 1,500 babies have been born HIV-positive every day since January 21, because Musk cut off their mothers’ medication." prospect.org/power/2025-0...

I found this short video on incivility in the workplace packed a punch. How many of us have experienced it? How are witnesses impacted by it? What is the impact on the people accessing healthcare services? #NHS m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukxs...

With every NHS reorganisation or plan I wonder- might THIS be when there's a meaningful attempt to do things differently? But honestly? I don't think I'll ever see an emotionally-intelligent NHS that prioritises relationships, where patients are really listened to, & where staff feel looked after.

I’ve been doggy sitting the lovely Daisy this weekend who has just moved to Bristol. I’ve been hoping to help her feel safe in new surroundings. We’ve been out shopping for new toys, enjoying the weather, discovering new walking destinations & striking up conversations with other people (and dogs).

@garyseconomics.bsky.social resonates with me. What we do to meet each other from less extreme positions, and how we cultivate a willingness to do so, is probably the tricky part of the problem.

House music history is interesting to me. I always wish I was around for the advent of HM. This song from 1987 by Sterling Void has some hitting social comments in it. Found it via Pet Shop Boys cover. I’d like some more of this in music today.

Global efforts to take some steps in the direction of health equity completely undermined. Seems so unfair. I am trying to hold onto hope.

Kicking off National HIV Testing Week by making history! Sir Keir Starmer has become the first UK Prime Minister & G7 leader to ever take a public HIV test. This week, anyone in England can order a free HIV self-test, just like the Prime Minister. Get yours at startswithme.org.uk

“...to care is an act not of weakness, but of strength.” The Lancet response: bit.ly/4jRb5Av