We’ll never live forever: let’s look at end-of-life care differently

A BMA report finds flaws in care for those who are dying. Immortalilty is not all it’s cracked up to be, as Gulliver found out – and it’s better to die on your own terms

Yes, women should choose their maternity care. Why isn’t it happening now?

Baroness Cumberlege’s report proposing personal birth budgets is what many women have wanted for decades – the tricky bit is putting it into practice

These brave mothers’ stories must chip away at the stigma of postnatal mental illness

One in 10 women suffers from pregnancy-related mental health problems, but fear stops them asking for help. A BBC documentary shows it doesn’t have to be that way

Does this hurt? The subjectivity of ill health

Dean Burnett: People assume specific illnesses affect all people in the same way, but the effects they have vary wildly between individuals.

The day the NHS saved my baby’s life: she had stopped breathing

At just 20 hours old, Milli’s glucose levels dropped to potentially fatal levels. Thanks to a midwife’s visit and the Herts air ambulance, she survived – with a mystifying and rare pituitary gland condition identified weeks later

How paying for your treatment would help save the NHS

‘Free at the point of use’ has had its day. Other European countries use health insurance without the poor suffering, so why can’t we?

How do I … keep the doctor at bay?

The cost of running the health service has ballooned, so here are some ideas – beyond paying your taxes – to keep it fighting fit

What a US company could teach the NHS about an ageing population

British GPs take note – medical centres in Florida are ditching the one-size-fits-all model and specialising in elderly care, reducing hospital time while saving money

‘No one looks at the whole of me,’ my mum says. How the NHS is breaking apart

Her local hospital was once state of the art, but now it creaks, with over-full wards and over-worked staff

How dieting will get personal – and much more effective

Project analysing people’s gut bacteria and determining which foods cause a spike in their blood sugar levels is paving the way for tailor-made diets