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yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
@yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
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yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
What is the lived experience of YP receiving neuro divergent diagnosis in late teens/early 20s?
September 30, 2025 at 11:14 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
Next abstract! #BACCH
Numerical evaluation of a community paediatric service, Dr Raman Sharma
September 30, 2025 at 10:26 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
Up next Karen Bell and Rhoda from Belfast! #BACCH
Ready for what's next: Supporting ADHD transitions through youth informed resources
September 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
We tend to wait for referrals to come in, rather than going out and being proactive - which favours more privileged families. A map of unmet needs of diagnosed children below #BACCH
A map of children with unmet asthma need in South London
September 30, 2025 at 9:18 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
The ductus arteriosus starts at the pulmonary artery (which takes blood out of the right heart toward the lungs) and plugs into the aorta (the big artery serving the rest of the body). So foetal blood in the ductus arteriosus bypasses the lungs completely. (4/14)
Picture of the human heart with the ductus arteriosus circled in yellow. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
September 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
An adult heart usually functions as two separate halves - there's a right side (which sends blood to the lungs) and a left side (which sends blood to the rest of the body), and the two sides do not meet - not even for Thanksgiving. (2/14)
September 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
Of course, the Conservatives would never be caught relaxing with a glass of wine or two...
Cchq Christmas party during COVID lockdown
August 27, 2025 at 7:02 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
That's on the bingo card!
NHS Resident Doctor trust induction bingo
August 6, 2025 at 10:08 AM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
You need to carry this one in your other hand for identification in resus calls
A yellow can of monster energy labelled "the doctor"
August 2, 2025 at 7:36 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(15/15)
Where science is concerned, journalists like Brian Deer are rare / instead we have poor and biased science reporting for sensation hungry newspapers / who spread ill-informed opinions like they were solid gold truths / in the twenty-first century, is it too much to ask journalists to do basic fact checking? / And that editors would assign science stories to reporters who have a knowledge of the subject / is that too much to ask?
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(14/15)
For the ten years that the MMR controversy raged / the media in Britain fell over themselves to promote and support Dr. Wakefield / Most newspapers, with only a few exceptions, uncritically swallowed whole the study's feeble evidence / sensationally highlighting the story / while downplaying and even ignoring studies which found no connection between MMR and autism / Wakefield was far from alone in creating this health scare
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(13/15)
Wakefield no longer works at the Royal Free hospital / he lives in the United States where he's seen as a hero by the anti-vaccine movement / endorsed by celebrities such as Jim Carrey / and Jenny McCarthy / who are convinced that a worldwide conspiracy has been engineered against Wakefield / by vaccine manufacturers and their paid lackies in the media and scientific establishment
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(12/15)
However, in the interests of Wakefield's theory / the children were given a battery of tests / colonoscopies, lumbar punctures, and barium meals. Distressing procedures for any child / none of which was approved by the hospital's ethics committee / all this evidence crushed Wakefield's defence / he was found by the GMC to have acted dishonestly and irresponsibly
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(11/15)
The GMC disciplinary panel, which sat and heard evidence for 147 days / found a long list of charges against Wakefield proven / the panel were particularly concerned about the way children were used in Wakefield's trial / it's a fundamental principle of paediatrics / that no one should suffer more than a blood test unless it is necessary for their health / obvious, you would think
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(10/15)
And that a clear mismatch existed between Wakefield's published paper / and the clinical records taken at the time of the study / changes in the diagnoses, histories and descriptions of the twelve children / all of which made it look as if a new syndrome had been discovered / ultimately all these facts were acted on by the General Medical Council and the Lancet / the Lancet retracted the paper
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(9/15)
This new vaccine only stood a chance of success if confidence in MMR was damaged / Wakefield's theory was that both inflammatory bowel disease and autism / were caused by the measles virus (found live as a normal part of the MMR vaccine) / Brian Deer, the journalist, dug deep into Wakefield's findings / he discovered that the clinicians and pathology service at the Royal Free Hospital / where Wakefield worked had found nothing to implicate MMR
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(8/15)
the full amount eventually came to £435,643 plus expenses / in addition to these large sums, an application was made for a further £55,000 to conduct the research / this money was never declared to the Lancet as it should have been / it gets worse / nearly nine months before the press conference in which Wakefield called for single vaccines / he had filed a patent for his own single measles vaccine
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(7/15)
Barr hoped to raise a class action law suit against MMR manufacturers / and Wakefield was contracted to conduct scientific research for him / the aim was to find evidence that the MMR vaccine did harm / this evidence was intended to feature in litigation on behalf of 1600 families / for this work, the doctor was paid a staggering £150 an hour / which Barr paid him out of the UK's legal aid fund
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(6/15)
It never occurred to me that Wakefield might be a man who was benefitting financially from the poisoned atmosphere / of fear, guilt and infectious disease that he in part created / but such was the case, and this was proved by the journalist Brian Deer / reported first in the Sunday Times and expanded on in a Channel 4 documentary / two years before the Lancet paper was published, Dr Wakefield was hired by a lawyer / Richard Barr - a small town solicitor who specialised in clinical negligence
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(5/15)
Measles / the United States National Academy of Sciences and the UK's National Health Service both concluded / that there was no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism / When I first heard about Dr. Wakefield / I thought "well, he's a poor scientist if he can draw such huge conclusions from such a small study / and there was something clearly amiss in the fact his results had failed to be replicated by anyone else
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(4/15)
This began a global health scare / fear spread among parents who were unsure about what immunisation choices to make / and parents of autistic children began to question the MMR vaccination / "He was fine before that awful jab" / by 2009, health bodies in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and many other countries were reporting outbreaks of measles
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(3/15)
The paper reported a study of twelve children all diagnosed with autism / to which the authors suggested a link with the MMR vaccine / during a press conference, Wakefield stated that giving children the vaccine in three separate doses / would be safer than a single vaccination / this suggestion was not supported by the paper, and subsequent peer review studies / have not shown any association between the vaccine and autism
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
(2/15)
Facts and evidence are just seen as a matter of opinion, rather than a proven truth / and blind unreasoning belief is considered as valid as critical thinking / this is Andrew Wakefield / a British former surgeon best known for his work regarding the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine / and the claimed connection with autism and inflammatory bowel disease / Wakefield was the lead author in a 1998 paper, published in the Lancet
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
Time to repost this stunning visual takedown of the OG (Original Grifter) Andrew Wakefield, founding father of #MMR hesitancy by @acmedarryl.bsky.social ( buy Darryl's books here bit.ly/462aBDk ) 🧵(1/15)
The facts in the case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield / It's the twenty first century /and we're a long way from the pre-enlightenment middle ages / the world has been transformed by scientific knowledge / yet suspicion of science seems never to have been higher / fear and anger have obliterated rational discourse
July 13, 2025 at 10:56 PM
yarrah-goffincher.bsky.social
We overseeded the front lawn with wildflower seeds, and I would never go back #gardensky
wildflower meadow
June 19, 2025 at 8:19 AM