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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.

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

Poetry in practice

Two GPs reflect on the impact poetry has had on their practice and how it fits into their lives.
28 June 2020
3 mins read

Health inequality and COVID: Two centuries of social murder

Health experts and politicians have warned for over 170 years that health inequality is killing those in the most deprived parts of society. We now witness the poorest in society disproportionately dying of COVID-19, suggesting that the social murder observed by Engels
25 June 2020
3 mins read
1

Putting methotrexate prescribing research into practice

New research published in the BJGP from Dr Ben Goldacre's team in Oxford found that 23% of GPs still prescribed different strength methotrexate tablets (10mg and 2.5mg) to the same person in the past year — against the safety advice. The clear
23 June 2020
2 mins read
1

Interpreting antibody tests with care

As primary care physicians we are likely to have an important part to play in determining who is tested and when. Impressively high sensitivity and specificity numbers, therefore, have to be interpreted with caution. As GPs we need to be aware of
19 June 2020
2 mins read

Contextual safeguarding: what GPs need to know

Contextual safeguarding is a relatively new concept, which is primarily intended for adolescents. Recognising that young people are often exploited and abused outside their family environment, contextual safeguarding focuses on influencing and shaping those areas.
18 June 2020
2 mins read

COVID-19 and racism in the USA

Prof Bill Phillips discusses the two crises in USA, COVID-19 and racism, and the role of family doctors. In Seattle, around 7000 doctors and nurses demonstrated peacefully as part of the White Coats for Black Lives movement.
18 June 2020
1 min read

BAME excess deaths: chronic stress and constant hostility

Everyone of us in the health service has overheard unacceptable rudeness, sly put-downs, exclusion or smiling say-the-opposite-of what-you-mean British insincerity. We need to acknowledge that it is happening. There is no mysterious genetic or melanin fault causing excess deaths among health workers
16 June 2020
2 mins read
2

Here is how New Zealand was so successful with COVID-19

Professor Felicity Goodyear-Smith outlines how New Zealand have done so well. They are a small isolated island nation and didn't leave it another week. A lot of testing seems to be key. Like everywhere, there were challenges in general practice with dramatic
15 June 2020
1 min read

Workforce changes and opportunities during COVID-19

Additional COVID-19 pressures of increased demand and reduced workforce has meant novel solutions have been necessary. We employed medical students, someone from NHS England, and a retail manager. It has been heartening to see others step forward to support general practice.
15 June 2020
2 mins read

COVID-19 and the creation of a new disease

We must recognise that as clinicians we are involved in creating a new disease. We must be conscious that the way that we communicate symptoms and risk with each other and our patients has wider implications beyond the immediate clinical situation. Our
12 June 2020
2 mins read
6

Pride and prejudice in the NHS

How much does it take for us to genuinely express sorrow and compassion for the terrible trials our patients endure? We have pride in the NHS but we have prejudice too. Perhaps it is the NHS clinician that is Icarus, flying too
11 June 2020
3 mins read

The absurd general practitioner

An individual working as a GP runs the risk of becoming an automaton. Evidence-based medicine and professional standardisation contribute to uniformity and by definition a reduction in diversity. Camus says that “if the world were clear, art would not exist” and I
10 June 2020
3 mins read
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