Da Vinci’s hand impairment caused by nerve damage, not stroke, suggests new study
4 May 2019
New analysis of 16th-century drawing by Italian doctors concludes da Vinci’s right hand affected by ulnar palsy, rather than stroke
Media office
Read our information for journalists, latest media releases and how to contact the media office.
The Royal Society of Medicine is a leading provider of high-quality continuing postgraduate education and learning to the medical profession. Its mission is to advance health, through education and innovation.
The Society actively encourages and supports all those entering medicine and aims to be a significant provider of education to the wider healthcare team.
Each year the RSM organises over 350 academic and public events spanning 55 areas of special interest, providing over 35,000 doctors and other health professionals with a multi-disciplinary forum for discussion and debate.
The RSM is home to one of the finest medical libraries in the world, with an extensive collection of books, journals, electronic journals and online medical databases.
As well as providing education for doctors and other health professionals, the Society aims to promote an exchange of information and ideas on the science, practice and organisation of medicine, both within the health professions and with responsible and informed public opinion.
Independent and apolitical, the Society provides a neutral platform for informed debate about important, often controversial, healthcare topics.
The Society does not campaign or lobby for policy change and is not a policy-making body. It does not issue guidelines or standards of care.
Contact the media office
To request a press pass or to inquire about press releases, JRSM papers or filming on RSM premises, contact:
Rosalind Dewar, Media Manager
Tel: +44 (0)1580 764 713
Mobile: +44 (0)7785 182732
Email: media@rsm.ac.uk
Latest media releases
Lung cancer under-recognised in people who have never smoked
26 April 2019
A group of respiratory medicine and public health experts are calling for lung cancer in never-smokers to be given greater recognition
Colombia experience could help reduce UK knife crime and street violence
12 April 2019
A leading public health expert says the UK should learn lessons from systematic violence reduction work in Cali, Colombia to tackle rising rates of knife crime on British streets. The work in Colombia resulted in significant reductions in homicides between 1995 and 2018.
NICE marks 20th anniversary by dropping social and ethical values from revised social value judgements document
3 April 2019
The former Clinical and Public Health Director at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has expressed dismay at the removal of explicit ethics and values in the proposed revision of the NICE Social Value Judgements document.
Transgender archive to be showcased at Royal Society of Medicine
28 February 2019
Items from an important archive of materials on transgender issues will be presented for the first time at the Royal Society of Medicine in June to accompany an event focusing on LGBTQ+ health.
UK must not fall behind in race to ‘humanise’ drug discovery
16 November 2018
Researchers are warning that current research models and regulation are blocking the development of human-relevant approaches to drug discovery and are perpetuating animal-based approaches.
Children account for almost half of sport injury-related A&E attendances
2 November 2018
Study finds almost half of sport injury-related emergency department attendances and almost a quarter of sport injury-related hospital admissions were in children and adolescents aged 0 – 19 years.
Immigration restrictions for EU citizens could damage UK research and healthcare environment post-Brexit
11 October 2018
An analysis of senior European scientists and doctors working in the UK underlines the high risk of considerable damage to the UK’s science output and international research reputation caused by any post-Brexit immigration restrictions, as well as an associated reduction in healthcare quality.
Community health workers could help tackle NHS workload crisis
5 October 2018
The growing workload crisis in NHS primary care could be helped by the systematic integration of community health workers at scale, a study shows. Published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the modelling study was led by researchers at Imperial College London.
Access to medical school narrowing for graduate-entry students
20 September 2018
Access to medical school is narrowing for people wishing to study medicine who already have a degree, according to a group of current graduate-entry medical students. In a letter to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine they describe how, in recent years, several four-year graduate-entry courses have closed or narrowed requirements to exclude individuals with non-scientific backgrounds.
Newspaper reporting of NHS Cancer Drugs Fund misleading
14 September 2018
An analysis of UK newspaper reporting of the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) between 2010 and 2015 shows that despite some critical analysis, the mostly positive stories are likely to have contributed to the CDF’s continuation, despite mounting evidence of its ineffectiveness.
Prescription costs increase for low-value treatments despite reduction in numbers
23 May 2018
Despite a fall in prescription numbers for low-value treatments, the overall cost of prescribing these items in English primary care has risen, according to new research published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Practices with poor prescribing performance more likely to prescribe homeopathy
19 April 2018
New research published today by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine finds that general practices in England with the worst prescribing quality scores are 2.1 times more likely to prescribe homeopathy than practices with the best prescribing quality scores.
Past media releases
Poor rural population had best diet and health in mid-Victorian years
9 March 2018
A new study, published in JRSM Open, examined the impact of regional diets on the health of the poor during mid-19th century Britain and compared it with mortality data over the same period.
Experts call for more evidence to test impact of GP video consultations
1 February 2018
In a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, researchers have called for more evidence to understand the safety and effectiveness of video consultation, and its impact on patient access and GP workload.
Drug trial protocol redactions by industry sponsors exposed
26 January 2018
New research published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine exposes the extent of redactions in protocols for industry-sponsored randomised drug trials.
ITN Productions & The Royal Society of Medicine
13 December 2017
The Royal Society of Medicine and ITN Productions have launched ‘21st Century Healthcare,’ a news and current affairs-style programme which explores the need for a collaborative approach to medicine to encourage new thinking. The programme brings to life the solutions to some prominent healthcare issues.
Catastrophic failures in the NHS can be caused by breakdowns in basic communication systems
29 November 2017
Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Carl Macrae, of the University of Oxford, reports that many communication processes in the NHS are still commonly viewed as mundane administrative tasks, instead of safety-critical processes that are essential to safe care.
Serious mortuary errors could be reduced by applying common patient safety protocols
24 November 2017
New research investigating serious incidents occurring in the management of patient remains after their death concludes that safe mortuary care may be improved by applying lessons learned from existing patient safety work.
Patients report worse care experience in GP practices owned by limited companies
3 November 2017
New research published today by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine concludes that patients registered to general practices owned by limited companies, including large organisations, reported worse experiences of their care than other patients.
The RSM presents 21st century healthcare, a collaboration with ITN Productions
21 September 2017
The Royal Society of Medicine and ITN Productions are partnering for a consecutive year to produce a news and current affairs-style programme that will explore the collaborative approach to medicine, encourage new thinking and look at solutions to prominent healthcare issues.
Met Commissioner Cressida Dick to speak at Royal Society of Medicine terror response meeting
19 July 2017
Cressida Dick, London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, will join trauma doctors and representatives from the London Ambulance Service at a meeting specially convened by the Royal Society of Medicine to focus on the lessons to be learned by the emergency response services from the recent major terror incidents in London and Manchester.
Professor Sir Simon Wessely becomes President of the Royal Society of Medicine
18 July 2017
Professor Sir Simon Wessely will today, Tuesday 18 July, be inaugurated as President of the Royal Society of Medicine. Regius Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College London, Sir Simon is the first psychiatrist to hold the office of RSM President.
Technology should be used to boost empathy-based medicine
28 June 2017
Technology should be used to boost empathy-based medicine according to a paper published today by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Populist radical right a threat to core values of medicine and public health
2 June 2017
The populist radical right is a threat to core values of medicine and public health, even within a functioning democratic system, according to a commentary published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Actress Kiruna Stamell debates gene editing with ethicist Dr Christopher Gyngell
27 April 2017
Two papers published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, debate gene editing and the health of future generations.
New NHS safety investigator must become fully independent body
10 February 2017
The new NHS safety investigator for England, which starts work in April 2017, must become a fully independent body through primary legislation, according to healthcare safety experts.
New analysis links 30,000 excess deaths in 2015 to cuts in health and social care
17 February 2017
Researchers exploring why there has been a substantial increase in mortality in England and Wales in 2015 conclude that failures in the health and social care system linked to disinvestment are likely to be the main cause.
Crossbench peer calls for expansion of mandatory sobriety programme
7 February 2017
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff has called for a scheme that successfully reduced alcohol-related crime and disorder in London to be rolled out across England and Wales.