Phil Whitaker reviews 'John Berger: Ways of Learning' by Iona Heath, a "[compilation of] letters, quotations, and reminiscences from her 20-year friendship with John Berger" ...
Ben Hoban reflects on the necessity and risks of reductionism in medicine. The tension between parts and the whole is a necessary part of whole person medicine
UK GPs have to do a multi-source feedback survey (MSF) across their scope of practice every five years. Should you give feedback if asked by a colleague? Paula Wright opens the discussion
When does a GP attend a patient’s funeral? Emma Ladds writes about how it is such a privilege to be a family doctor, and about grief when losing a patient.
In this episode, we discuss early intervention in psychosis services and primary care.
"If we focus on using a healthcare service to improve health outcomes we cannot be surprised when our health worsens or our staff become overwhelmed. Imagine putting the hopes of a nation winning a football match on a tired and injured goalkeeper
What can we do in primary care to prevent cardiovascular complications of pre-eclampsia? Rebecca Wheater provides a number of suggestions ...
In this episode, we talk to Jen MacLellan about a trauma-informed approach to women's health.
Appeals to tradition represent a desire to preserve the evanescent, to build a clear narrative that tells us who we are and how we should go about things, even if its historical basis is shaky. We project our thinking onto ... general
The author tells us that 'mysterious illnesses' are complex and complicated, very individual, definitely not in the patient's head (though attention to one's psyche can be beneficial), but in her body, and, importantly, in the culture she lives in...
Fraser Barratt says a lyrical farewell to hospital medicine as he moves into the community for the final phase of GP training
Can we design a healthcare system that is safer, fairer and more sustainable, without patient representation?
We're on a summer break until 3 September 2024.
Anyone currently working in general practice who is, or aspires to be, an effective influencer should read this to learn what it takes to make the changes to improve health care. It also explains what has often been lost from the institutional
The Ealing Borough Primary Care Team has implemented measures to address DA, aiming to raise awareness and dismantle stigma among staff and patients. Vasumathy Sivarajasingam shares insights from the Ealing approach.
Hana MO Elhassan argues we should minimise health disparities through cultural competence. A good starting point is developing better awareness of common skin and hair care practices within various ethnic minority populations, and appreciating their clinical significance.
Sophy Wollaston offers a lyrical journey from doctor to patient and from community to hospital... and back again
We're on a summer break until 3 September 2024.
Newly-qualified GP John McCullough seeks wisdom from established GP and rural medicine lecturer Tim Sanders. It feels like a tough time to enter General Practice – has it always been this way?
The Appleby review is ostensibly a response to claims made on social media that there has been a substantial increase in suicide rates in current and recent patients of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust.
"I asked ChatGPT to write me 100 words on the potential uses of AI in UK general practice, and it instantaneously churned out the above. I am simultaneously amazed and terrified!" Paul McNamara ponders the role of AI in his professional lifetime.
The inappropriate transfer of work from secondary care in particular is a well-recognised problem which seems difficult to address. Ben Hoban wonders if this reflects a broadly political change in the goals of British healthcare.
In this episode, we talk to Professor Clare Turnbull about HRT risk and a family history of breast cancer.
Yonder looks at prescribing cascades, teacher wait time, online services for mental health conditions, community DVT pathways
Carter Singh reflects that we need to address the underlying cause of the racism, hatred, polarisation and intolerance that is now brimming over the edges into everyday life.
The 60th Venice Biennale hidden among the palazzi, churches, and gardens of this beautiful city reflects what is means to be ‘Foreign’. With a global backdrop of multifarious crises concerning movement across countries, nations, territories, and borders, this would seem a pertinent
"Non-medically qualified practitioners of medicine are not new. One may look at two spectacular examples of the contribution by these colleagues, Hamilton Naki and Mamitu Gashe ..."
In this episode, we talk to Dr Joe Hutchinson about how the problems with defining a GP's work in sessional terms.
Peter Toon and colleagues call on the new UK government to re-evaluate the market-driven ethos in which the NHS has been managed. Is a new GP Charter overdue?
Hannah Ritchie takes a clear-eyed view to understand how we got where we are, what the real problems are, and what we should be doing to build a truly sustainable world. Throughout Ritchie supports her arguments with evidence and data. Terry Kemple
Here, Rodney Jones looks at the allocation formulae that distribute money and resources to England’s Integrated Care Boards. He examines the hidden assumptions behind the formulae and asks why nearness to death has never been incorporated into the calculations.
The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) review has recently published a review of the quality of care provided to people diagnosed with endometriosis. What can we learn from this report, and what can GPs do differently to improve
The whole of modern general practice in the UK rests on both the electronic healthcare record and networked services for requests and results. Brendan Delaney reflects on the Crowdstrike outage of July 19th 2024
In this episode, we talk to Anna Wilding about how the social prescribing link worker scheme is being rolled out.
Paul McNamara and Yoosuf Ibrahim argue that is imperative for GPs to highlight the increased risk of overdose associated with street valium use, given its unpredictable composition, to individuals struggling with drug dependency. Additionally, efforts should be made on disseminating knowledge about
If all we have to offer are platitudes and cures, we will be stuck forever trying to eat the elephant in the room, a possibility in theory, but rarely in practice. If we can understand and engage with our patient’s point of
How has increasing workload impacted on GPs, and our sense of providing safe care to our patients? Nada Khan finds that research into workload and safety suggests an association between wellbeing, burnout and patient safety.
Effective public health campaigns need more than posters and TV ads about going to see your GP. We need to get key community influencers in the team if we are going to have any impact whatsoever. John Havard argues that barbers have
In this episode, we talk to Lisa Davies about how to frame discussions in practice around opioid prescribing.
Yonder: a diverse selection of primary care relevant research stories from beyond the mainstream biomedical literature