I see many of advanced treatment here in Kyushu University Hospital where I work which needs to be reviewed from the ethical viewpoint.

This is a crucial moment in time as we observe a myriad of storms that are gathering: the Black Lives Matter storm testing systemic racism consciousness and our morale fabric; the COVID-19/financial storm that is dashing public health protection measures against economic recovery; the social media storm influencing mindsets and behaviours; and an employee storm of no permanence and uncertainty.

At this time of Black lives Matters, it is time for examining our inner selves and to ask why it is that in 2020 we are still dealing with ingrained racism. I grew up in Apartheid South Africa and my formative years made...

On either side of the Atlantic, the US Black Lives Matter protests over the death of George Floyd, and the calls for a UK enquiry into the disproportionate death rate from the COVID-19 infection of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups, are energising communities and fair-minded folk globally.

South Africa has one of the highest inequality levels in the world and an extremely polarised healthcare system. On the one end, there exists a seemingly high-functioning, expensive private healthcare system serving approximately 16% of the population with hospital services, and up to a third of the population with out-patient services.

In 1778, John Newton, a slave trader, was in a vessel hit by a terrible storm. John Newton had a conversion that lead to his writing of “Amazing Grace”. Despite his spiritual conversion, it took John Newton another eight years to end his slave trading. He wrote,

The National Covid-19 Doctors on Call Program has been in operation since 27^th March 2020 and we have currently raised sufficient funding to run the program until the 30^th June 2020.

Based on the success of the program, the expected spread of the Coronavirus and our assessment of the needs of the vulnerable communities we have been supporting, we believe there is significant value in continuing the operation of the helpline until December 2020. 

A well-known Japanese comedian with a long career on TV was recognized again during the spread of coronavirus, however not on any TV screen but in an obituary. We were shocked with deep sadness to encounter the news that Ken Shimura, an influential and beloved comedian for decades in Japan, suddenly passed away due to Covid-19 despite the fact that we were about to watch a new TV drama with him cast as one of the primary characters.

This is a time of sadness around the world as we face the impact of the pandemic and the ongoing challenges to human dignity. ISQua is an international organisation that believes in the core values of humanity, of equity and justice, with a mission to improve health and healthcare. Equity is one of the intrinsic values of quality, yet it is the most elusive.

ISQua's Learning about Improvement Community of Practice was delighted to host Helen Crisp for her virtual session on 'Learning from Measurements in Improvement' on 27th March 2020.