BJGP Life – Page 3

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

9 mins read

5

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

2 mins read

Arts·Stories

Prescribed

Good health signs off full participation in this world, pure of heart prepares us for the next. Hoc est corpus, sent to your chosen pharmacy.

18 June 2026

1 min read

1

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

5 mins read

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

1 min read

Research

Yonder: Pattern disruption, health inequalities in GP training, waiting for mental health treatment, and shared decision making

Yonder: a diverse selection of primary care relevant research stories from beyond the mainstream biomedical literature

15 June 2026

2 mins read

1

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,

13 June 2026

3 mins read

1

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

5 mins read

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

5 mins read

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

5 mins read

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

1 min read

Opinion

Diving back in

So it took a few months to get back, agree to a few locums, then actually turn up and dive back in. Only then have I been able to decide how I still feel about medicine. And the answer has surprised me.

8 June 2026

2 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.

5 June 2026

4 mins read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Building neighbourhood care in East and Central Brighton: A structural tension at the heart of PCNs

Their ambition was clear: to create networks of local practices to help tackle the social determinants of health, whilst sharing infrastructure and staff... In practice, that ambition collided with the daily realities of workload, estates, funding constraints and the operational pressures of

4 June 2026

5 mins read

1

Clinical·Opinion

Against interpretive drift in the ten-minute consultation

Moments like this are small and easily missed, yet they can change the trajectory of care. They show how interpretation can drift away from the patient — and how a single disconfirming question can pull it back.

3 June 2026

3 mins read

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 233: Seeing skin differently: Eczema, acne and psoriasis in skin of colour

In this episode, we talk about recognising common skin conditions in skin of colour.

2 June 2026

1 min read

AiT·Opinion

AI detection in GP training – A hidden burden on supervisors

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?

1 June 2026

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.

30 May 2026

7 mins read

Opinion·Stories

The gatekeepers and the wizards revisited (Part 5): Failure Demand

This is the extra work caused by a failure to do something right the first time, leading to rework, complaints, or repeated requests instead of the poorly person getting what they need efficiently - usually the first time they are seen by

28 May 2026

5 mins read

Arts·Stories

Three Encounters (A poem)

We are medical students who have who have been inspired and moved by the storied nature of the consultations we saw in general practice to express this as a three-part poem.

27 May 2026

1 min read

1

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 232: ‘It’s not just thrush’: Navigating recurrent vulvovaginal thrush in primary care

In this episode, we talk to Dr Tori Ford about recurrent thrush in general practice.

26 May 2026

1 min read

Opinion

The weight of ordinary things

What we lose when we lose the thinking space of the consultation is not administrative efficiency. It is a form of clinical knowledge that cannot be generated any other way: knowledge that emerges when a clinician holds the whole patient in mind

25 May 2026

2 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.

23 May 2026

5 mins read

AiT·Arts·Opinion·Stories

Personal Protective Equipment (A Poem)

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

22 May 2026

1 min read

Opinion·Stories

The gatekeepers and the wizards revisited (Part 4): The Wizard-Psychologist

The Wise Wizard-Psychologist rose to his feet. “Meeting performance targets, rather than looking after the poorly People, in Systems Thinking terms, is not “value work.”..."

21 May 2026

5 mins read

1

Opinion·Undergraduate

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

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

20 May 2026

4 mins read

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 231: ‘They knew me’: Relationships, continuity and dementia care

In this episode, we talk to Dr Charlotte Morris about dementia care in socioeconomically deprived populations.

19 May 2026

1 min read

Opinion

Hesitation or humility? The consultation is already doing the theory

In many consultations, even under the usual time pressure, something quieter happens... You let a few possibilities breathe. You ask one more question, check one more assumption, and resist the urge to quieten the story too quickly.

18 May 2026

3 mins read

Arts·Opinion·Random

Sex, violence and moral ambiguity in “Once Upon a Time in the West”

Sergio Leone’s final and arguably greatest Western, “Once Upon a Time in the West” is famous for its long, drawn-out gun fights, which open and close the movie like two gruesome bookends. It is a magnificent movie, but more magnificent for not

16 May 2026

4 mins read

1

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Follow the microbes: A new perspective on health inequalities

Perhaps a new take on the UK’s health inequality gap could be a focus on dysbiosis. We could seek to understand how the microbiome signatures of those living in deprivation compare to those living in affluence, and how that might link to

15 May 2026

7 mins read

Opinion·Stories

The gatekeepers and the wizards revisited (Part 3): Evidence-based wizarding

It was time for a Wise Gatekeeper from the Centre for Evidence-based Wizarding to speak to the Assembly.

14 May 2026

4 mins read

1

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.

13 May 2026

3 mins read

Clinical·Podcast·Videos

Episode 230: Choosing general practice: What shapes medical student decisions?

In this episode, we discuss medical student career choices.

12 May 2026

1 min read

Bright Ideas and Innovation·Opinion

Yonder: working rurally, pain-related distress, access and experience, tailored public health messaging

Alex Burrell looks yonder to papers on working rurally, pain-related distress, access and experience, and tailored public health messaging.

11 May 2026

3 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

9 May 2026

4 mins read

Opinion

Should general practice certify long-term sickness?

March 2026 saw the BBC report that 72% of 752 surveyed GPs had never refused to sign a fit note due a mental health illness. As a result, there has been debate about whether GPs should continue to issue fit notes...

8 May 2026

5 mins read

Arts·Opinion

The dilemma of GP triage: a poem with reflection

We are keepers of patients’ stories and often we cannot help but open the Pandora’s box : who has written this – was it a relative, an obliging receptionist or a tech savvy grandchild? Why have they used those words, what does

7 May 2026

2 mins read

Opinion

What building a community menopause pathway taught me about general practice

Moving between busy GP clinics, strategic meetings, and patient-facing events forced me to hold two realities in mind: the ideal logic of service design and the realistic, emotionally charged experiences of patients seeking care.

6 May 2026

3 mins read

Opinion

Letting the island come to you: can GPs be wayfinders?

From before patients even enter the room, we are taught to structure what they tell us, to channel and direct it safely, and yet we regularly find ourselves swamped by real human needs which overflow any bounds we try to set them.

4 May 2026

5 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

2 May 2026

3 mins read

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