We are all hoping for a Covid vaccine that works. But even if we get one, will it be that simple? Ramiro Gilardino and Victoria Malek-Pascha consider five critical issues.
Why is the injustice of racism still an open sore in western culture? Paul Main takes our exploration forward with his review of two forceful books.
For a patient, time with their GP is everything; time to explain, connect, and trust. For the GP, time is just as essential. Not only for improved patient care, but for reflection on the enormous and constant changes to the profession. In
We are embodied social beings. We thrive on nurturing relationships. Touch forms a key part of those relationships in everyday life but is also a powerful form of communication for clinicians, allowing for wordless dialogue, presence and embodied empathy. Paquita de Zulueta
30 years ago we were told we were not treating pain adequately. There was a push to give people more analgesia. So, armed with our opioids and gabapentinoids we went and we medicated. But peoples' pain got worse. Katie Barnett examines what
Loneliness is a serious public health challenge facing the UK. David Jeffrey reviews a book describing the impact of an innovative community project in Somerset.
In this episode Dr Carol Sinnott talks about research into operational failures in primary care and how they impact on the daily stresses of being a GP.
It has been well reported that those in the community and end-of-life care have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, but little attention has been given to GPs and district nurses working in end-of-life care and the positive stories they have
Asthma treatment has improved markedly over recent years. But James Oxley wonders why we are not taking action to reduce environmental pollution from discarded inhalers.
Health care has seen a seismic shift to the utilisation of telehealth. Through the use of this technology many practices have seen a significant reduction in home visits, an acceleration of existing trends. However, at the boundaries of such acceleration we find
Aiman Aslam won the SAPC medical student essay prize for her piece reflecting on a consultation that changed her practice. She considers an elderly patient with dementia and the impact of her culture alongside the evidence base.
Numbers have no voice. We, however, give them meaning. Using numbers we can twist the narrative to suit the point we want to make. Following his spectacular rise on social media Samar Razaq investigates the dark arts of manipulation, politics and statistics.
In this episode Professor Tammy Hoffmann talks about research into the natural history of uncomplicated urinary tract infections that could have a big impact on conversations with women and treatment with antibiotics.
Doctors are not strangers to adversity, both in the lives of our patients and sometimes in our own. Judith Dawson examins two inspirational accounts to tell us how we can practically help.
In this episode, we talk about research that explores the perspectives of GPs and considers how we can help women and girls who are at risk or have experienced female genital mutilation.
Holly Quinton describes the use of metaphor and drawing in consultations to improve understanding, compliance and rapport. This can help the GP to explain medical terms to a patient, but it can also help the doctor to understand the patient's experience.
The Welsh government is introducing prescriptive guidelines regarding access to GPs. Susan Goodfellow and Gareth Thomas examine their wisdom, and explore possible alternatives.
Fiona Baskett reviews the soon to be released 'Psychiatrist in the Chair: The Official Biography of Anthony Clare', detailing the life of Anthony Clare (1942–2007), one of the leading psychiatrists of his generation.
In this episode we talk to Professor Samuel Wong about his research into COVID-19 and its impact on loneliness and mental health in a cohort of older adults in Hong Kong.
The UK Government’s Gear Change policy heralds a ‘bold vision for cycling and walking’, and has been a welcome development amidst the recent headlines of sadness and uncertainty. Heather Jones examines what is needed to make such a vision work.
David Smith looks at GP Training programs and argues that the focus of secondary care placements is not the development of a well rounded primary care clinician, but to address service needs. He has some suggestions to make things better.
The dedication and humility of NHS nurses, porters, doctors, switchboard operators, medical students and secretaries has never wavered for the past seventy-two years. This book review by Fiona Baskett reminds us that whether giving or receiving care we all have our vulnerabilities.
While demand for services increases, the NHS continues to experience a significant workforce crisis. To help pool resources the NHS Long Term Plan aims to integrate services across sectors, but what will need to be done to ensure that the delegation of
Boris Johnson announced plans to carry out up to 10 million tests in a day to allow people who are negative to be able to continue with their life as normal. This "moonshot" is planned to be financed to the tune of
The Citadel, a 1937 novel by A. J. Cronin, explores the themes of social and health inequalities, drawing from his personal experiences working as a doctor in Britain’s pre-NHS era. The protagonist, newly qualified and virtuous Dr Andrew Manson, begins his medical
“Health is made at home, hospitals are for repairs: building a healthy and health-creating society” is a radical book from the global health leader and former chief executive of the NHS. Rather than “prescribing” or telling people what to do, we should
Dr Mairead Murphy and Prof Chris Salisbury talk about continuity of care. It is already known that relational continuity of care (seeing the same GP over time) is valued by patients with long-term conditions. This qualitative study identifies that patients believe that
Who would have wanted to be a lead clinician in Public Health England at the start of the pandemic? Judith Dawson finds that trying to balance the population losses against individual and economic loss is an impossible job. But in a typical
Professor Jeannie Haggerty and Professor Richard Baker talk about their systematic review considering continuity and patient mortality. Their study confirms the 2018 findings of an association in the context of primary medical care, but also shows that it is variable.
The primary care workforce has been right at the heart of the response to COVID-19, working hard in new and rapidly changing circumstances to ensure patient care continues to be provided to all those who need it in the community.
David Misselbrook discusses how two books, To Kill a Mockingbird and Sacred Hunger, have helped him understand more about why Black Lives Matter matters and have given him his own refresher course in racism.
General practice is well-positioned to identify and intervene in the wider determinants of health. Many of the ingredients are already in place: registered patient lists, extensive data, and the ability to engage both proactively and opportunistically with patients. But primary care’s responsibilities
Made Possible details the appalling historical mistreatment of people with learning disabilities, as well as the challenges faced today. Salman reflects on the empowerment and the personal achievements she witnessed when her sister was well supported, and the uphill struggle to try
2020 will be remembered as the year of Covid-19, a global pandemic that has touched the lives of more human beings than any disease in human history. Life around the world began to change.
Sally Hull discusses new research published in BJGP. E London GPs were incredibly busy seeing COVID in the early stages of the pandemic, even though this work was missing in the national narrative, and she explains their findings related to ethnicity.
Not long following the horrors of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, Liberia now faces the COVID-19 pandemic. Michael Bryant, medical director of ELWA hospital in Liberia, describes the day-to-day struggle to provide quality care for patients in an already critically strained healthcare
Judith Dawson reflects on the draft NICE guidelines for the management of chronic primary pain. There is widespread use of ineffective and addictive pain medication of questionable benefit. However, implementing any change will depend on a cohesive approach across primary and secondary
Simon Morgan reflects on how travel and his travel medicine practice have been derailed in the pandemic.
Aarti Bansal is a GP in Sheffield and the founder of Greener Practice. She talks about greener lower carbon prescribing, reducing waste, and improving clinical outcomes. She also considers how we can reduce travel for patients and other practical actions practices can
Despite ‘seeing’ more patients remotely, we are becoming more isolated, living our lives in lonely clinics and solitary consultations. The art of medicine becomes abstract, doctors and patients united in their separation.