The BJGP is the world-leading primary care journal. At BJGP Life we add multi-media comment and opinion for the primary care community.
Getting a place in medical school should be a matter of meritocracy. One’s socioeconomic background or personal connections should not affect it; there should be a level playing field. But how do we achieve this? Ishaq Miah, Farzeen Mahmood, Mahin Amir, Sagal
Shireen Kassam and Laura Freeman have previously described the medical advantages of a plant based diet. Here they tell us about their own journey to start Plant Based Health Online, a commumity interest company that puts profits back into improving the health
The Clarendon Lodge Medical Practice had demonstrated the health benefits of regular exercise in a big way. Here's how.....
Telephone encounters may be more efficient and safer during the pandemic but but Judith Reeder argues that they are inferior to the interaction that occurs when you are able to share words and emotions face to face.
There is a growing realisation that Long-COVID can also occur in children, with numerous physical symptoms and emotional consequences. NHS England now recognises that Long COVID in children needs urgent evaluation, and as GPs we need to help children and their parents
With the incidence rate of coeliac disease in the UK increasing four-fold between 1990 and 2011, it is essential that patients with coeliac disease continue to receive appropriate support and management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, Yvonne Jeanes et al. outline how
We might feel we have had a terrible year. Most of the world have had it much worse. Nathaniel Aspray reviews an inspirational film about the origins and early years of Partners In Health, an internationally renowned health charity.
Louise Dubras reflects on Covid vaccination. We give more than a vaccine. We give hope. We also give a healing encounter, a touch that starts their return to being in the world.
Ashley Liston, having been a GP for 34 years, chose to postpone his retirement to work in wave one of the pandemic. He tells about the lessons he has learned about working in new teams and his hopes for the future of
Perhaps Primary Care will after all become the restorers of ‘normality’. Whatever happens, we will still be here. We will still be listening; still validating lives. Emma Ladds reminds us why, despite Coronavirus, General Practice is still the best job in the
We talk to GP, Dr Emily Donovan, about new research into the experience of domestic abuse by female doctors.
Have some patients been receiving the wrong type of ‘aid’ when they became seriously unwell in the COVID-19 pandemic? Peter Nightingale explains the concept of "last aid" for dying patients.
With COVID-19 forcing a shift to predominantly remote consulting, how do we ensure that physician associates are fully supported in their role in primary care? The Sheffield Physician Associate (PA) Preceptorship scheme may be one way, offering a formalised support package for
According to Euripides, "the sea washes away all men's illnesses". However Tadhg Crowley gives some less marine but more pragmatic advice as to how we can maintain our own mental wellbeing.
Half of patients with elevated blood sugars, with an HbA1c greater than 42, are not clinically obese. As well as the usual measures Sarah Blake asks whether we need to pay more attention to post prandial blood sugar spikes - is it
Point-of-Care Ultrasonography is an exciting new technology for primary care. It offers real potential, but Michael Tanael and Shari-Jean Hafner warn us to consider the balance of evidence and to proceed with caution.
People living with severe and prolonged mental illness in England die 15-20 years earlier than the general population. Richard Armitage alerts us to the fact that there has been a marked decrease in the proportion of such patients who have had a
How should antipsychotic medication be reviewed when patients no longer have access to a psychiatrist? In the UK, little guidance is available. Lisa Grünwald and her colleagues are reflecting on the issues and asking for our help.
With the mainstreaming of genomics, GPs are likely to encounter genetic conditions more frequently. Samuel Edwards, a GPST1, shares their insights and skills gained while completing an innovative post in Clinical Genetics and General Practice.
Peter Aird has been vaccinating the frail elderly against Covid-19. He reflects that if we view the old or clinically vulnerable as of less value than the young and strong, then we open the door to a world where the aged and
There’s some persuasive anatomical evidence to support the theory that we evolved to be runners. Maybe more of us should try it? Victoria Hodges review a classic.
What will you do if ALL of your admin, reception and managing team are absent due to being possible COVID contacts? Rubia Usman survived, and tells us how she did it.
What will the state of the nation's health be when Covid is over? Fatima Nadeem warns us that it is not looking good, and gives us some practical suggestions.
The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the detrimental effects of long-term loneliness. Niha Hussain gives us a useful mnemonic to help us to ask about support networks when taking a history, and continue to help us to direct patients to use a wider
The editor, Euan Lawson, is joined by Associate Editors, Nada Khan and Tom Round, for some conversation on highlights from the February 2021 issue.
Raising public awareness of Domestic Abuse (DA) is the first step forward in our battle to combat the detrimental health consequences of the abuse. Vasumathy Sivarajasingam offers some vital practical advice and excellent resource links to help us to identify and help
Chronic primary pain is a relatively new concept. Ensuring its definition is consistent within new guidelines is key. Here, members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain provide a number of observations on the use of drugs in chronic pain management,
Referrals for specialist dementia assessments, substantially decreased in April 2020 and May 2020, coinciding with the first COVID-19 lockdown. Richard Armitage examines yet another issue arising from service disruption due to covid.
According to the NSPCC most child sexual abuse in the UK isn’t reported, recognised or prosecuted. In 2020 there have been fewer opportunities for the signs to be spotted. Katie Barnett helps us to understand the devastating consequences of child abuse in
Spiritual health can be stigmatised, and doctors may be uncomfortable with the topic. Orla Whitehead discusses her own investigation into doctors' spiritual health in a time of Covid.
Professor Jane Gunn discusses research into a self-administered tool for depression. This RCT showed that 'Target-D', a person-centred clinical prediction tool and e-health platform matching management options to prognosis, results in greater improvement in depressive symptoms at 3 months than usual care.
Richard Armitage reminds us that children may suffer lifelong effects from bullying, as a less visible complication of the current Covid pandemic.
Raj Khanchandani reviews "Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS", an online exhibition curated by the Migration Museum.
Professor Jane Gunn talks about a randomised controlled trial, Target-D, that aims to match the best treatment to people with depression.
If we believe that vaccination is the way out of the Covid-19 pandemic, then Julia Darko tells us we must first address the elephant in the room......
Editorial comment. Today we publish two articles exploring why the intention to be vaccinated against Covid-19 is very significantly lower in some of the ethnic minority population, many of whom are at greater risk from the disease.
A recent survey found that 72% of black and 42% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi people say they were unlikely to have the vaccine. Samar Razaq explores the reasons why.
Olivia Baker brings us a special Burns' Night report on Robbie Burns lesser known career as a medical commentator.
"For those embarking on new fellowships, The Leadership Hike will provide a valuable reference source" — Prof Joanne Reeve reviews The Leadership Hike by Amar Rughani and Joanna Bircher, a new insightful book exploring the role of leadership in primary care, and
Surely, medicine has advanced greatly over the last 50 years? David Zigmond asks what have we lost in the relentless tide towards ever-greater specialisation and packaged healthcare.
