In this episode, we talk to Kelly Lloyd about what influences GPs to prescribe, or not prescribe aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome.
In response to recent earthquakes, the UK Emergency Medical Team (UKEMT) is currently providing a variety of clinical services from a field hospital in a heavily-damaged town located around 50 kilometres from Gaziantep in Kahramanmaraş Province. Richard Armitage is there.
...it wasn’t until I became sick myself that I really understood what it meant to be a patient, or indeed those wider principles I tried to root my own practice in. For me, that once watertight seal between clinician and clinic was
"Who has been in charge of the processes of change in the last 20 years? What ingredients must be restored now that we have a full-blown factory farm model of primary care medicine? Is it too late to save family medicine 70
A brief check of the notes and it is a patient you don’t know, taking eight different medications for four separate problems. You’ve probably got 10 minutes...
GPs can hide, to a degree, behind the castle walls and beyond the moat consisting of front-line administrative staff. But I ask myself two questions: does that mean we are in an ‘ivory tower’; and do we have a ‘drawbridge mentality’? Emilie
Alex Pavitt argues that we need a systematic shift from focusing on appointment quantity to consider appointment quality as we work towards embracing and combating the overall problem of ‘multimorbidity’.
In this episode, we talk to Dr Sarah Tonkin-Crine about interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing in general practice.
The phrase ‘we can’t go on like this’ is frequently banded around on social media in relation to the NHS. However, it seems that the staff working within this organisation can, and are; but at what cost?
In 2017, Timothy Snyder (a US historian of the 20th century) felt compelled to write a pamphlet with lessons he had learnt from decades of studying Nazi and Stalinist atrocities. It is a manual for how to understand the world around us
Ask any doctor, and they’ll tell you that talking to patients can be difficult. Mind you, ask any patient and they’ll tell you that talking to doctors can be really difficult too. Ben Hoban discusses how we address the problem.
What is my take on carers? They deny they need a medal for what they do. I now have the awareness and the greatest respect for these unsung heroes. For me. I will continue to care for Mavis, to do whatever I
In this episode, we talk to Dr Bianca Perera about GP perspectives of managing patients with acute exacerbations of COPD in primary care.
The worsening relationship between primary and secondary care if this NHS is to be saved, argues Edin Lakasing
Newshound: Thanks for agreeing to see me, doctor…
Subject: John, it's just John these days. I appreciate your making the trip. Did anyone try to stop you?
(Dystopian satire from Ben Hoban)
Timothy Snyder kept a diary whilst in hospital in the US where he was finally treated, the experience of which forms the basis of his reflections. Much of what he writes about is clearly written about and for the American context, but
For the first time, a coroner in the UK declared domestic abuse as having a causal role in death by suicide. Domestic abuse is a growing public health burden, so what can primary care do to protect individuals experiencing domestic abuse? Here,
How have media depictions of general practice and GPs affected how we work, and healthcare policy in the UK? Nada Khan investigates...
So, is the description of the GP as a ‘gatekeeper’ outdated? I would argue it is. GPs are not trying to block access to specialists. Rather, through their distinct expertise, they provide a safety net for patients who could risk further harm
In this episode, we talk to Dr Karen Smit about a feasibility study looking at home pulse oximetry in patients with Covid-19.
Imagine having to relive the moment you are told that you have a life-limiting illness every time you need support; every time you feel vulnerable because of a physical or mental complaint that needs attention. Emilie Couchman argues for meaningful informational continuity.
In 'Helgoland,' Carlo Rovelli attempts to bring us up to date with the latest in the bewildering and bewitching subject of quantum physics. One of his main assertions is that the observer will always affect the observed.
Richard Armitage reviews two self-help books by controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson
Digital medicine is a priority for modern general practice and is a core theme for NHS England strategy. As a recent Topol Digital Health Fellow, Bilal Salman describes ...
Cyclothymia, a mood disorder, can result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Here, Carolyn Chew Graham and colleagues define the illness and outline how best to identify, diagnose, and manage cyclothymia in patients
All four countries in the UK are devising methods/models to enable healthcare professionals by way of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to work with GPs thereby reducing the workload & enhancing the patient experience, but such changes may not bring about these desired outcomes.
In this episode, we talk to Dr Sarah Sowden about socioeconomic disadvantage, common mental health conditions and non-drug therapies.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), in new guidelines endorsed by Health Canada, recommend that Canadians should have no more than two alcohol-containing drinks per week. Nada Khan explores alcohol advice in primary care.
Is it because people are getting older and sicker, developing more and more chronic diseases as they age and then expecting a magic cure-all that doesn’t exist? Expectations for such, we have all likely fed into.
"While undoubtedly fibromyalgia may not be adequately covered in the medical curriculum, I am not sure that this book fills the gap." – Carolyn Chew-Graham reviews Fibromyalgia by Thanthullu Vasu ...
When someone asks you whether you’re telling them it’s all in their head, the most accurate answer is: Yes, but isn’t everything?
Finding the right partner is critical. With a generation of senior and capable partners retiring and not being replaced at the same rate, there is a huge concern of seeing this post continue to diminish. Here, Adnan Saad outlines how best to
As the latest cohort in the Oxford International Primary Care Research Leadership Programme, we present the ‘10 things we wish we had known’ for anyone considering a career in academic primary care.
In this episode, we talk to Professor Emma Wallace about adverse drug reactions amongst older adults and the implications for primary care.
here’s no appointments, and I’ve waited weeks, To show you my piles, and rash on my cheeks, I’ve also had chest pains, for the last year, And there’s just one more thing, now that I’m here!
"As this book progresses, its early playful, even comedic, lightness gives way to the author’s very substantial criticisms ... [that] attempts to metricise, micromanage, and proceduralise all medical consultations and services has led to the displacement and destructing of trusting relationships ...
Labour seems to have its own version of a disruptor in Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, who declared that he wants to phase out the system of GP partners, & scrap the gatekeeping model of primary care, but how many of
It is well known that the life expectancy of people with severe mental illness (SMI) is reduced by 15–20 years compared to the general population, but what is less well known is that people with SMI also experience serious inequalities in oral
We talk to Becky White about vague cancer symptoms and risk of cancer.
"When a patient who happens to be a barber comes to see me for a consultation, that is precisely what – and only what – he gets. When I go to see my barber for a haircut, however, not only do I