BJGP Life – The home of general practice and family medicine

Latest

Episode 236: Parents as partners – Improving paediatric safety in general practice

23 June 2026

In this episode, we talk to Dr Tom Purchase about involving parents in paediatric patient safety.

Making sense together after algorithms

Imagine a man in his 30s presenting with palpitations. Before attending, he has used a symptom checker, reviewed his smartwatch data, and read discussions online. He arrives with a list of possibilities — anxious but also informed.

22 June 2026

Fathers grieve too: The unseen in the consultation room

That night, in the dark, he whispered:“People forget she was my baby too.”

21 June 2026

The ethics of looking after family and friends, a call for more helpful guidance and education

Being a doctor when a loved one is ill can be a very difficult place to be. Guidelines do not generally reflect the reality on the ground and in the main emphasise the negative aspects of intervening. Monica Aquilina reflects

20 June 2026

Opinion and Clinical

Opinion·Stories

Fathers grieve too: The unseen in the consultation room

That night, in the dark, he whispered:“People forget she was my baby too.”

21 June 2026

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

The ethics of looking after family and friends, a call for more helpful guidance and education

Being a doctor when a loved one is ill can be a very difficult place to be. Guidelines do not generally reflect the reality on the ground and in the main emphasise the negative aspects of intervening. Monica Aquilina reflects on the

20 June 2026

International·Opinion

Gatekeepers at the exit

General practitioners, while bearing uncertainty about the need for specialist intervention, sustain continuous and comprehensive relationships with patients. I would argue that super-aged societies also require gatekeepers at the exit from medicine.

19 June 2026

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Building neighbourhood care in East and Central Brighton: The health hub

Neighbourhood working often fails: PCNs are asked to deliver it without the space, coordination, or finances needed. The Health Hub was our practical response, showing what is achievable using local assets and PCN staff.

17 June 2026

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 235: From symptoms to signals – Using AI for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer

In this episode, we talk to Dr Garth Funston about using large language models to help identify early signals of ovarian cancer in primary care.

16 June 2026

International·Opinion

The Strait of Hormuz and global antibiotic security

War effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026... the waterway carries petrochemical feedstocks that manufacturers in India use to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for millions of generic drugs, including antibiotics, worldwide.

12 June 2026

Opinion

The digital panopticon, tentacles not included

Every time we examine ourselves for lumps, wonder how long a mole has been there, or casually inspect the toilet bowl, we internalise this gaze, seeing ourselves through another’s eyes like inmates of the panopticon. We talk without irony about healthcare surveillance,

11 June 2026

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Building neighbourhood care in East and Central Brighton: Lessons we learned from creating PCN community groups

Our aim was simple. We wanted to provide low-threshold, supportive spaces that helped address the non-medical drivers of poor health. We also wanted to bring patients to our staff, rather than rely on them co-ordinating care and arranging appointments.

10 June 2026

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 234: When mothers need more – Postnatal care and complex social needs

In this episode, we talk about complex needs and postnatal care.

9 June 2026

Book Reviews

Arts·Book review

Exhibition review: A Second Life by Tracey Emin

"Emin, through her art, has converted the chaos generated from sexual abuse and poverty in early life into a beautiful lens for us to understand ourselves and our patients better." - Hector Watson and Elizabeth Walton review Tracey Emin's A Second Life, exhibiting at Tate

3 mins read

1

Book review

Self-defence: A myth busting guide to immune health, by Daniel M Davis

...our immune system is a complex and story-laden set of ideas with implications... Naturally, all manner of amusing and occasionally annoying myths abound. There is 'healthy' and enjoyable approach to immunity in this book.

3 mins read

Book review

Book review: The Morbid Age: Britain and the Crisis of Civilization, 1919–1939

The Labour government of 1945 acted on the Beveridge report and, amongst a raft of achievements, created the welfare state and the NHS. However, the seeds of these accomplishments were planted earlier, during the morbid age.

7 mins read

Book review·Opinion

My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden

'My Fourth time, We Drowned,' challenges us to be human. As doctors we have the unique opportunity to address the injustices described in the book at an individual level.

5 mins read

Book review

Book review: The Golden Rule: Lessons in Living from a Doctor of Ageing

The Golden Rule is a 'lesson in living from a doctor of ageing' and it is full of hidden gems and pearls of wisdom from Lucy Pollock's ability to acutely observe beyond what is and isn’t being said. It exudes warmth and intelligence.

4 mins read

Book review

Book review: Gloria Don’t Speak

"This book gives Gloria a voice. It needs to be read widely by anyone involved in the care of people with learning disability or neurodiversity." - Peter Lindsay reviews Gloria Don't Speak by Lucy Apps

3 mins read

Book review

Understanding health, illness and society: a patient centred approach to healthcare by Alexis Paton

I have found another slim sociology text that takes the fight for health justice to audiences whose attention and focus is under siege. Alexis Paton channels her talents as a bioethicist, journalist, and a social scientist, reconnecting this topic with a sense of righteous outrage.

3 mins read

Book review

Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer

Ann Packer’s novel vividly depicts the complex, uncertain world of terminal care at home.

1 min read

Arts·Book review

The waiting room: poetry and publishings from over a decade in the NHS, by Giles Dawnay

This is a self published collection of writings by Giles Dawnay that comprises some haunting poetry and published writings in (among others) The Guardian, The BMJ and the BJGP, on themes that we ignore at our collective peril.

2 mins read

2

Book review·International

Wonderful and Broken: The Complex Reality Of Primary Care In the United States by Troyen A. Brennan

Troyen Brennan explores the complexities of the United States’ (US's) primary care with its multiple systems of funding and its absence of universal health care cover and finds that primary care is wonderful but broken...

3 mins read

International

International·Opinion

Gatekeepers at the exit

General practitioners, while bearing uncertainty about the need for specialist intervention, sustain continuous and comprehensive relationships with patients. I would argue that super-aged societies also require gatekeepers at the exit from medicine.

2 mins read

International·Opinion

The Strait of Hormuz and global antibiotic security

War effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026... the waterway carries petrochemical feedstocks that manufacturers in India use to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for millions of generic drugs, including antibiotics, worldwide.

5 mins read

Clinical·International·Opinion

Reflections from the EASO primary care obesity masterclass, Vienna 2026

Sally Howlett attended the 2026 EASO primary care obesity masterclass in Vienna and brings back some useful insights for everyday practice.

4 mins read

International·Opinion

There’s no such thing as minor illness

The health system depends for its effectiveness on minor illness. We’ve built a system where we limit capacity to only include those with serious illnesses, or those with something dramatic and exciting.

3 mins read

International

Supporting general practice in Myanmar throughout 5 years of conflict

Jim Brockbank reports on the ongoing conflict in Myanmar from a healthcare perspective, with particular attention to the RCGP Quality Improvement project, the importance of telemedicine, and essential health partnerships. An essential read.

5 mins read

Long Read

The ethics of looking after family and friends, a call for more helpful guidance and education

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

Being a doctor when a loved one is ill can be a very difficult place to be. Guidelines do not generally reflect the reality on the ground and in the main emphasise the negative aspects of intervening. Monica Aquilina reflects on the issues...

9 mins read

Ambivalent care: when patients feel unheard and unsupported

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

As a clinician, do you find it challenging to treat patients with symptoms that are difficult to understand, explain or manage?

11 mins read

Medical societies in the 19th Century: How they influenced general practice

BJGP Long Read·Stories

Many of these societies may be historical relics, but their contribution to the development of general practice in the nineteenth century should not be forgotten.

7 mins read

Undervalued and unsustainable: The economic reality of GP minor surgery services

BJGP Long Read·Opinion

When the price of a portion of fish and chips has tripled in 20 years but the tariff for a joint injection remains static, something has gone seriously wrong with how we value general practice.

5 mins read

23

We need to talk about dying

BJGP Long Read

"Taking dying and death out of the solely medical domain, becoming joint partners in caring for the dying patient in the broadest sense, facilitates personalised and holistic care, and creates opportunity for a more relational and compassionate interaction ..."

15 mins read

Trainees and students

AI detection in GP training – A hidden burden on supervisors

AiT·Opinion

As generative AI tools become more powerful and accessible, concerns about the authenticity of reflective writing are growing. Can we recognise AI‑generated text? How do we know whether a reflection is truly a learner’s own thinking?

3 mins read

Personal Protective Equipment (A Poem)

AiT·Arts·Opinion·Stories

The clinell wipes held in emerald green... They’re for my body... But what the hell Is there for my soul? A poem.

1 min read

Community-focussed curricula and the ScotGEM programme: Personal reflections on a research visit

Opinion·Undergraduate

Medical students’ interest in GP is declining. ScotGEM, and other community-orientated tracks, aim to buck this trend.

4 mins read

Who am I when I put the stethoscope on?

Opinion·Undergraduate

We are not passive witnesses in consultations, we are active partners. What happens in a consultation is not fixed but co-created, and I am more responsible for that than I had realised.

2 mins read

A note on educators’ notes: why GP training programmes in the UK needs clearer, fairer assessment governance

AiT·BJGP Long Read·Opinion

GP training programmes must balance two imperatives: protecting patients and supporting the development of hardworking, reflective clinicians. To achieve this, the establishment relies heavily on narrative assessment tools...

3 mins read

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

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BJGP conference highlights, 2026

Visualised podcast – BJGP Top 10

Urine testing for cervical screening

Trust in health professionals

BJGP Top 10 research 2025

Professor Martin Marshall at the BJGP Research Conference

1

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Trainees and students

BJGP Interviews

BJGP Interviews Podcast

BJGP TV | Research

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BJGP News and Editorial Comment