Dr Helgi Johannsson
Welcome to my page
I have been a consultant anaesthetist at Imperial College Healthcare since 2007, having trained at St Bartholomew’s, then anaesthetic training in North and East London. My clinical work is based at St Mary’s and Hammersmith hospitals and includes a wide variety of disciplines, including trauma care, oesophagogastric surgery, obstetrics, bariatrics.
My other interests include education, social media and medicine, music and exercise. I have been in many leadership roles, including clinical director of anaesthesia and intensive care, associate medical director for education at Imperial, director of anaesthesia for MSI choices and most recently Vice-President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
I have long kept a blog, on two different providers, the first being deleted a few years ago.
This website is simply to make access to my writing easier and protect it from being deleted on a corporate whim.
Assisted Dying - time to change the law
“I don’t want to go to prison, I’ve never committed a crime, I feel so helpless!”
Epidurals in labour - a lifesaver?
Epidurals save lives and we should be telling our patients well before they get to the labour ward.
We need to change the concept of “natural labour” - no one has failed because they had an epidural, in fact the decision to have one will help them and their babies come through what is naturally a highly dangerous process unscathed, especially if they’re at risk of complications.
“If I don’t come to work today I genuinely won’t be able to pay my rent next month”.
The atmosphere on the strike days is palpably different to a normal day. I work in a hospital that deals mainly with urgent and emergency work, so the workload isn’t that different from normal, but the buzz of teaching and training that is so integrated into our work just isn’t there.
Wait…did you say he’s unconscious?
Our patients deserve to have access to doctors on the frontline. Yes, we are more expensive than a telephone operator, but we are efficient decision makers trained to see a bigger picture, to look after the whole patient and use our skills to anticipate other issues that might come up. We are good value.
Covering our striking junior doctors - is there no end in sight?
It’s 2am and I have just been called to the labour ward. As a consultant anaesthetist with 25 years' experience I am covering the night shift normally worked by our junior doctors, who are on strike for the longest period in history.
LGBT history and medicine
“we have been deleted from history where we were present, but in most cases we hid our homosexuality well and never featured at all”
Something’s not right….
I’ve been meaning to write this account for a while, but I wanted my patient to have her operation successfully before writing it. I want to thank her and her daughter profusely for not only allowing, but encouraging me to write this.
Covid anniversary edition - on vaccines and anosmia.
A year on - the sense of smell hasn’t quite returned, and my blood boils at the decisions to pause vaccinations.
Have I become a cracked shell?
Over the last few months, our lives have been turned upside down. Are we ok? Do we still have emotions?
These jelly babies taste terrible
In March 2020 before we had COVID-19 tests or knew much, I realised my muscle ache wasn’t just a bad yoga class as I lost my sense of smell.
Can we drop the spacesuits yet & slip into something more comfortable?
AGP or not AGP? That is the question….
Why should we need work experience to become a doctor?
Work experience is vital before we commit our lives to medicine, we need to know what we’re letting ourselves in for.
Prehabilitation and paternalism
Our patients have a golden opportunity to improve their fitness during their cancer treatment.
I wish you a good death
It’s not all about saving lives, providing a good, dignified death is as important. We need to talk to our closest friends and relatives.
I’m allergic to quinoa - allergy, intolerance and NAP6
We overuse the term “allergy” - most are nothing of the sort.
WhatsApp Doc
Instant messaging is here to stay, and essential in our day to day and emergency communications.
In Praise of Prepare Surgery and the Imperial Charity
Getting our patients fitter improves our cancer outcomes.