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BJGP Life

BJGP Life

The BJGP is the world-leading primary care journal. At BJGP Life we add multi-media comment and opinion for the primary care community.

In harm’s way

As the country is gripped by fear of a new pandemic it places doctors and other healthcare workers once again in the spotlight. There is understandable fear amongst the public about the nature of the current pandemic and how it may affect
21 August 2020
3 mins read

PHE and BME inequalities: Too little, too late?

Public Health England’s two reviews on disparities in COVID-19 failed to address the significantly higher proportion of ethnic minority healthcare workers who tragically died from COVID-19, and provides no detailed road-map to tackle these inequalities in the future. Reflecting on these uninspiring
4 August 2020
3 mins read

Racism can be overt and subtle. Here’s what we can do.

Carter Singh is a full time GP partner at Willowbrook Medical Practice, Nottinghamshire. An 'expert-by-lived-experience' in racial inequality, it is this passion that motivates him to challenge discrimination, inequality, and marginalisation in the NHS.
4 August 2020
1 min read

It is time for general practice to act on racism in health care

Under the Prevent policy, NHS Trust staff are trained to spot signs of radicalisation and refer cases to the government. Within a systemically racist social system this policy succeeds only in targeting minority groups and those who are most vulnerable. The abolishment
3 August 2020
2 mins read

Retirement and managing the ‘peridoctorpause’

Ed Warren is a retired GP. He notes that a feature of getting older is that you have more opinions and are convinced that others want to hear them. He reflects on the ageing process, cognitive biases, coming to terms with his
30 July 2020
3 mins read

Reflections on working with care homes during COVID-19

The vulnerability and medical complexity of our care home residents means their clinical care is often challenging. However, with the emergence of COVID-19, the scale of this challenge has increased significantly with primary care support becoming predominantly remote and care homes asked
29 July 2020
3 mins read

We had to create a monster

We had to create a monster. A monster so huge, and so terrifying that we were sufficiently motivated. So, we the shielded, are being asked to move from essentially no risk, to an undefinable, unguaranteeable low risk situation. I am immensely thankful
28 July 2020
4 mins read
2

COVID-19, Orwell and the media

Well-respected epidemiologists predicted, from the outset, that the societal, economic and psychological harm from the unprecedented COVID-19 lockdowns was likely to be far greater than the perceived risk of death. However, such views were lost in the narrative of fear that predominated
24 July 2020
2 mins read

Is this really doctoring?

The opportunities to treat more and more patients in less and less time is the unspoken aim of the improving of technology. But as we move into this future, we must continue to courageously ask both ourselves and our employers; is this
22 July 2020
2 mins read

The Prison Doctor by Dr Amanda Brown

Dr Amanda Brown traded her relatively comfortable life in a village surgery for life in some of Britain’s most notorious prisons. However, The Prison Doctor is not just a description of how her two worlds differed.
19 July 2020
1 min read

The fable of the dun cow: GPs are not a limitless resource

If general practice becomes unsustainable, we will lose the most effective and efficient health service we have, and it will not be easily replaced. It’s time we involved GPs in the critical analysis of the holes in the system, before our capacity
18 July 2020
4 mins read

Pandemic primary care and the lack of a picture

So why am I more exhausted from a full day in practice when I have only seen four patients face-to-face, dealt with 30 or so patients over the phone and conducted a MS Teams practice meeting? The ambience around appears calmer –
18 July 2020
2 mins read

The conundrum of self neglect

Most clinicians will encounter cases of self-neglect during their career, which will vary from mild presentations to really disturbing cases where the self-neglect becomes extreme. What drives such behaviour and how do we manage it?
17 July 2020
3 mins read

Reclaiming the physical examination for general practice

Described as the 'cornerstone of safe and effective practice', the physical examination has always been an integral part of what makes a competent GP. With recent evidence presenting a decline in GPs' physical examination skills over recent years, GP Simon Morgan reflects
16 July 2020
3 mins read

Communicating evidence on COVID-19: ‘In nerds we trust’

Navigating the daily deluge of new information relating to COVID-19 is a significant challenge for both patients and professionals. With alarming statistics released regarding the inaccuracy of much of this information, it falls to healthcare professionals to help distinguish credible sources and
14 July 2020
3 mins read

COVID-19: The success of Asian countries

Professor Donald Li talks us through some of the reasons, detailed in his editorial, co-authored with Chak-sing Lau, for the relative success of Asian countries in managing COVID-19.
14 July 2020
1 min read

Ending the lockdown while balancing the risk

Evidence suggests that unemployment is associated with an increase in mortality and morbidity. In light of this evidence, Samar Razaq assesses whether a return to work could help to avoid an even greater disaster during the COVID-19 pandemic.
9 July 2020
3 mins read

COVID-19: The improving situation

Professor Azeem Majeed from Imperial College in London talks through the current situation. New infections are much reduced and he discusses the track and trace programme that is now working, though not as well as we might like. Everyday practice is not
8 July 2020
1 min read

I don’t want to be a call centre GP!

Remote, quick, impersonal, call centre medicine is not general practice. It may work for a subset of patient queries, for minor ailments, but for the rest, understanding the patient's needs, perspectives and priorities as well as the context in which they live
6 July 2020
2 mins read

BLM, population health and policing

The effect of being stopped and searched by the police can be psychologically traumatic and leave one feeling scared, powerless and humiliated. I thought about my patients. A lot of patients I look after are black and I wondered about how negative
2 July 2020
3 mins read

Care home medicine calls for our curiosity

The terrible direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our elders living in care homes demands our attention and clinical scrutiny. We must continue to scrutinise the effectiveness of virtual assessment of our older patients with thorough clinical governance processes.
1 July 2020
2 mins read

Working at home with laptops: watch out for erythema ab igne

COVID-19 has forced enormous numbers of workers into working from home and students into remote learning worldwide. The infrared radiation emitted from laptops can cause erythema ab igne. Increasing awareness now may prevent case occurrence or save time and stress later.
29 June 2020
3 mins read
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