How poverty and poor diets are reviving diseases from the past

Some weeks I'm based on the wards. These are often referred to as Hotweeks. The majority of my weeks are standard weeks when I do a mix of clinics and various other commitments.

- Dr Ali A Smith

In many ways Hotweeks are how people expect my working life to function. Ward rounds and sick patients arriving in A & E. During these weeks there is an uncertainty about how things will unfold. It's often challenging but it also feels like what I trained for. It's sometimes vulnerable and it can bring the most harrowing of stories.

Last week was one such week. I did the weekend as well so it made for a particularly long week. The wards are currently at their least pressured. It's the middle of summer and so viral infections are at a low ebb. Many years ago, I can remember empty beds in mid summer. That doesn't happen now but it's certainly true that the pressure on beds isn't so high in summer. At one point last week I went through the main waiting area in A & E and there were empty chairs.

The summer makes the change in medicine more visible. These days we manage mostly social diseases. They are a combination of poverty and ageing. They go together, with poverty leading to earlier disease and death.