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Frankly Speaking
Frankly Speaking Frankly Speaking Controversial, outspoken, ironic, but most of all up-front, Frankly Speaking is the uncensored voice of NHS247. Frank Leigh is prepared to provoke with an unflinching look at the world of healthcare and the NHS; Frankly Speaking will put into words the things you were just too afraid to say.

We welcome your comments and thoughts!

The views expressed in Frankly Speaking do not reflect the opinions of the management of NHS247.
Diction Addiction
A rhyme about dependence and compulsion.

It’s not so Terryble
Just pee in a pot. Chlamydia testing is that easy, young people are told - on the ads on TV, in the newspapers, on the internet. And the test is ‘free, simple, painless and confidential’, according to nhs.uk. No mention is made, however, of how diseases such as Chlamydia are caught and spread. Like by having sex with too many people, for example.

If pigs could fly
From now on I intend to travel anywhere far away solely by train. There will be no more waiting in endless queues at the airport, no security checks to reveal the condition of my socks. I will not need to arrive at the station three hours in advance, or navigate hell and high escalators, moving floors, check-ins and baggage controls. The most I will ever end up spending in a railway station is the inflated price of a packet of crisps from a grimy hole in the wall. And the seats on a train are so much more comfortable.

Promises and lies
It is cold outside and my car falls prey to the icy grip of winter. There is one final key-turn of the ignition, a feeble half-cough. And with the union of jump leads, the frozen battery is given one last kiss of life.

Forum
Sacked for swearing
Gary Walker, CEO of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust has been sacked from his £150,000 a year position after four years in the post.
Heroin on the NHS
After successfully trialling a heroin prescription programme for addicts, experts are now calling for a national network of ‘shooting galleries’, funded by the NHS. The evidence for the programme’s effectiveness is overwhelming. Crimes committed by the addicts dropped significantly, and many stopped using street heroin.
Nurses told to stop using 'dearie' and 'love'
Nurses are being told not to call older patients "dearie" or "love" as they are deemed as offensive under new guidelines from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Nurses have been told to use patients' preferred names and should speak "courteously and respectfully" to ensure dignity in care according to the NMC recommendations.
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