Dr Raj Persaud and Dr Peter Bruggen

Consultant Psychiatrist and Emeritus Visiting Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry

Recent events reveal we can't complacently leave the NHS in the hands of the bureaucrats and the politicians. Our experience is they have created a culture of fear and bullying whereby good clinicians are persecuted for standing up for patients or medical science.

Louise Pennington

Feminist Writer

We already know the causes of teenage pregnancy and, yet, the UK is following the US's path with parents demanding the right to prevent their children learning about real sexual education. The destruction of the welfare state and universal healthcare is already having serious detrimental effects on families

Caroline Argyropulo-Palmer

Freelance journalist

The grey vote is often assigned wholesale to the Tories - the old, we are told, are inherently conservative, natural backers of austerity, unwilling to take any cuts to their own benefits to help the young. Yet this may not be the case.

Harry Cooper

A Brussels-based Brit

I never thought I'd say this, but I think the rise of Ukip is overall a very positive development in British politics. Why? Because the British people see in Mr Farage a person who understands them. In Ukip they see a movement that stands apart from the fossils in Westminster. And for the first time since 1997 when Blair swept into power, there is a sense that things could be different...The problem is that the political parties that dominate British politics all end up saying roughly the same thing. There might be rhetorical differences, but ultimately they are singing from the same hymn sheet.

Dr Geeta Nargund

Global pioneer of Natural and Mild IVF and Advanced Ultrasound Technology in Reproductive Medicine

One of the questions I often get asked is: "What should I do to prepare my body for pregnancy?" Trying to start a family can be a challenge, and many women want to know all the facts to give themselves the best chance of conception and give their baby the best start in life

Nadhim Zahawi

Conservative Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon

For me it was a speech that showed that after three years in coalition our resolve to do what is right for this country has not left us, and whilst a Queen's Speech is not the place for economic and fiscal policy, it also showed that we are still committed to our central task.

Will Black

Writer with a background in anthropology and mental health care

Cameron appears to have frantically scribbled the policy on a napkin as he watched the local election results come in. Since his party's woeful performance, he has suddenly become more jittery about immigration than Captain Hook was about ticking clocks.

Rachel Carrell

CEO of DrThom, the remote healthcare service

If the NHS is going to survive for the next generation, it simply must evolve new models of provision. NHS 111 is moving in exactly the right direction. In fact, it should be going further. It is just a shame it was sent off prematurely, an unfinished car with a new driver on a half-built road.

Ruth Bond

Chair of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes

Maternity care is a journey, and all too often, there are points along the way where women are let down, left uninformed, and disempowered, and the lack of midwives lies behind this. Government directives, clinical guidance and decades of policy based around 'choice' is only worth the paper it's printed on,

Marek Doyle

Nutritional Therapist, Personal Trainer, Champion of Common Sense

Hollywood loves a good pandemic. Whether it's 28 Days Later, Quarantine or I Am Legend, the high-drama plot of a deadly infection is hardly a new concept. But does real life bear comparison to such storylines? Are we being treated to yet another drab sequel?

Michael Spicer

Comedian and impressively consistent disappointment

For those of you who don't know, I'm a superhero. I'm not bragging. It's a fact. I'm different from you.

Angharad Cloney

Cardiff University Criminology graduate and potential future post-grad Journalism student

As you can imagine, having staple foods such as bread, pasta and flour mixes on prescription is a vital lifeline for the majority of those who have to follow a gluten free diet, especially those where such carbohydrate rich food sources are important in their nutritional regime, such as diabetics.

Joe M. Williams

Spokesperson for transport charity Sustrans

There can be few political decisions that are so heavily weighted in favour of one course of action.

Mehdi Hasan

Political director of The Huffington Post UK

Critics of 'big government' talk as if it's beyond question that the state's involvement with our lives is a bad thing.

Ciaran Devane

Chief Executive, Macmillan Cancer Support

Everyone knows cancer is one of the toughest fights anyone can face. Struggling with gruelling treatment and dealing with the emotional impact of a diagnosis is difficult enough. What many people don't realise is that cancer is an expensive disease.

Dr Mark Britnell

Chairman and Senior Partner, Global Health Practice, KPMG

Recognizing that we all have something to teach and something to learn - in line with the spirit of World Health Day - will be crucial for success in the changing dynamics of the new healthcare paradigm.