"This book is terrifying, informative, stimulating, and educating to every member of the medical and nursing profession. It is extensively researched, has a massive bibliography, and, most importantly, it is well written and well worth reading — in spite of some truly
So, is the description of the GP as a ‘gatekeeper’ outdated? I would argue it is. GPs are not trying to block access to specialists. Rather, through their distinct expertise, they provide a safety net for patients who could risk further harm
All four countries in the UK are devising methods/models to enable healthcare professionals by way of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) to work with GPs thereby reducing the workload & enhancing the patient experience, but such changes may not bring about these desired outcomes.
Richard Armitage highlights a selection of issues in tension with public health and respiratory communicable diseases both pre and post the outbreak of COVID-19.
"As this book progresses, its early playful, even comedic, lightness gives way to the author’s very substantial criticisms ... [that] attempts to metricise, micromanage, and proceduralise all medical consultations and services has led to the displacement and destructing of trusting relationships ...
We can use concepts and language to share ideas/help us see things we might overlook. We can use the narratives of others to extend our own experiences of the world. The dangers from being intellectually and morally passive compel us to embrace
How might American political economists Rawls and Nozick have viewed Julian Tudor Hart's inverse care law? Ayu Takayanagi explores two types of self-interest.
Piecework is advantageous for production where output volume is a reliable proxy for productivity and monitoring and incentivising output volume does not compromise quality. Lara Shemtob and colleagues argue this is inappropriate for general practice.
What are safe workload limits in general practice, and how can these limits be implemented in practice? Nada Khan investigates.
in 2022 Richard Armitage altruistically donated a kidney. He discusses what GPs need to know in order to support patients who choose to go through this process themselves.
Topical corticosteroids remain the mainstay treatment for atopic eczema in the UK. However, it is evident from literature searches, and from communicating with dermatologists, that patient or parental underuse, non-compliance, and steroid phobia have been major concerns for some time. This lay
Richard Armitage finds that general anaesthesia is in fact quite unlike sleep in its most fundamental components.
Assessing the effectiveness of each charitable project and directing financial donations to the one that ranks highest is certainly a task of gargantuan proportions. Richard Armitage explains.
Moral Leadership in Medicine provides a vital account of how the needs of patients and the aspirations of professionals are translated into actions beyond the bedside and should form part of any debate on the future of healthcare.
Why have poverty and fuel poverty become medicalised? We know that social determinants of health shape and drive health outcomes. Poverty and fuel poverty are increasingly positioned within a biopsychosocial model of medicine and health.
Antimicrobial resistance is developing rapidly and threatens to outstrip the rate at which new anti-infective agents are introduced. There are now, however, more than 250 antibacterial compounds isolated from natural sources. Here, Simran Patel and colleagues examine some of the leading contenders.
While various definitions of health have been offered over recent centuries, the search for an enduring and completely satisfying definition has proven frustratingly elusive. Richard Armitage wrestles with one of the most recent and promising definitions.
Social prescribing: Fiaz A Hussain and Feryad A Hussain present the experiences of a group facilitator with extensive experience of running community groups, offering patient feedback, highlighting the challenges of implementation at the coalface, and offering a number of considerations for GPs
The clocks going back as we descend into winter each year generates an additional hour that we generally choose to spend asleep. A poignant philosophical reflection on time.
In an age of mass-production and commodification it is not surprising that the governmental response to our increasing losses of doctors is to recurrently and rhetorically press for greater production and wider recruitment. But in doing so are we avoiding deeper human
Most developed countries have increasingly diverse populations. This context presents a challenge to empathic healthcare, as well as an opportunity. Better communication, treating diversity as an opportunity, and formal training in empathy and diversity can help transform diversity from a potential barrier
Twitter has undoubtedly become the world’s digital town square, and provides the soapbox upon which contemporary issues and political dialogue are played out in real time. Richard Armitage explores the Twittersphere in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover.
Due to the accelerating power of our technological arsenal, and the contrasting stasis of our professional wisdom, the intelligence-wisdom gap is expanding at a blistering pace. With formidable technologies on the scientific horizon – nanotechnology, CRISPR, and general-purpose AI – the necessity
Doctors are inordinately fond of nouns. By and large, patients come to us not just with nouns, but with stories which include them but are driven along by verbs, words of action, backed up by adverbs, pronouns, and so on...
Should healthcare professionals ever strike? For some healthcare professionals, going on strike crosses a professional and moral line. Nada Khan explores the debate.
How is it that 'part time' GPs are working 'full time' hours? Nada Khan investigates!
Tom Brett had known Martha as a patient for fifteen years. Widowed for over 25 years, she had moved from the family farm to settle in the city close to her children...
Richard Armitage suggests it is right for GPs to primarily regard their beneficiaries as ‘agents’ rather than ‘patients’ in the majority of general practice consultations.
This article aims to draw attention to the experiences of staff who are involved in the coronial process following the death of a patient by suicide. In doing so, the hope is that organisations will consider the impact and implement support strategies
Digital currencies, otherwise known as blockchain-enabled cryptocurrencies, have made unmissable impacts on the global economy. But what are they, how do they work and, most importantly for us, what are their effects on human health and wellbeing?
Increased dialogue about the unique nuances of physicians adopting the role of ‘patient’ should be supported throughout medical training, argues Isabella de Vere Hunt.
In England over the last two years, you are likely to have seen people whizzing around on brightly coloured electric scooters. While they might be a fun, practical, and relatively cheap mode of transport, just how safe are they for their users
Distinguishing conditions that would benefit from diagnosis and earlier intervention from those that are temporary, self-limiting, and prone to harmful medicalisation, remains challenging. Here, Margaret McCartney and colleagues argue that a framework to consider some diagnoses as ‘delicate’ will aid in the
The recent cyber-attack on NHS systems, on the background of zero-days and zero-day exploit markets, raise concern for the safety of digitised patient data – those that are often used in primary care settings – are they too sensitive to be digitally
With climate change resulting in increasing temperatures all around the world, what exactly does heat do to our cells and vital organs?
The NHS has committed to becoming net zero by 2040. With medicines totalling 25% of the NHS' carbon footprint, one way to reduce the carbon footprint of health care is to simply do less health care - here, Theo Bartholomew and Samuel
Richard Armitage argues that the abuse or neglect of nuclear facilities in conflict settings represents an international public health concern
In this article we out some issues for consideration for those considering the process of ‘retirement’. We aim to offer some experience to inform others’ thinking, and also to set out issues that bodies such as the RCGP still need to address.
This winter, several long-term issues are coming to a head to create a perfect storm: high fuel prices, poor housing quality, a lack of sustainable energy strategies, and families sliding into low income during a cost of living crisis. Nada Khan reviews
A British newspaper has argued that GPs were given 'record pay rises in Covid pandemic'. Richard Armitage unpicks the truth and the implications of GP earnings and productivity over the last two and half years.
Alexandre Dumas’s 19th century French novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, doesn’t usually make the list of standard medical texts but perhaps it should not be so readily dismissed. It captures the spirit of an age when medicine was undergoing a revolution...
