A recent House of Lords report puts the blame for rising obesity squarely at the feet of the food industry, stating that marketing of unhealthy food products has created an ‘obesogenic’ food environment. Nada Khan investigates the broken food system.
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...
Richard Armitage explores the health implications of adopting imperial units, and finds the prospect quite alarming!
Cassandra-like, the author warned us, and we did not listen. This is not a book about a political party or ideology however, it is about politicians and political life in the UK. Hardman’s book is divided into three sections: Why we get
While it makes no contribution to mortality statistics, the morbidity, economic cost and primary care workload generated by osteoarthritis is of sufficient proportion to render the condition a significant public health problem worthy of urgent investment of resources.
A leaked memo from the UK treasury recently suggested GPs should assess the financial health of their patients and recommend financial support to those in most need. Nada Khan considers some of the arguments and research -discussion welcome!
Richard Armitage discusses the pros and cons of wild swimming in light of the recent discharges of raw sewage into British waterways
Doctors who find more human sense, belonging and fulfilment in their work are, almost certainly, able to provide better care. But our serial reforms have disregarded, then abandoned, a time-honoured cornerstone of practice. David Zigmond explores the tragic revival of continuity of
For today's and tomorrow's general practitioners to be able to engage with climate-related health threats in partnership with their patients, medical curricula must shape teaching and learning now. RCGP curriculum lead for planetary health Suchita Shah discusses what this mean for GP
Austin O'Carroll critiques a moralistic definition of suicide that culminates in a unjust hierarchy of worthiness for compassion and support. Seeing beyond intention to the causes of despair may be more helpful
What Rupal Shah & colleagues are proposing is not whimsical or theoretical. We need to address the broader context or practice so that connection, meaning & values can flourish. The next generation of GPs needs to be inspired & adequately resourced to
Richard Armitage argues that cyber-attack pose an apocalyptic risk to UK primary healthcare
John Spicer and Carwyn Hooper unpack the Hippocratic duty to teach for 21st century primary care.
It is important that GPs are able to recognise this phenomenon, and to not dismiss the SMI lifestyle as a harmless pursuit for frivolous Gen-Z-ers. Richard Armitage unpacks the health implications.
Richard Armitage examines the 'Deborah James effect' on cancer awareness. How should we enhance the benefits and mitigate any harms of publicly shared celebrity cancer stories?
Rebecca te Water Naudé and Peter Young suggest that GPs may have duty to discuss the pros and cons of patients who contemplate crowdfunding for cancer treatment, and outline some of the issues.
Richard Armitage looks at the health needs of people who work away from home, be they itinerant telecommuters or contract-workers in haulage and construction - should general practice be evolving to meet the access needs of this group? Join the discussion!
Sharon Dixon and colleagues contend that a deeper understanding of safeguarding practices (and how these look and feel on the front-line of multi-agency encounters) is needed if future child safeguarding tragedies are to be avoided.
How and why do we define something as a public health problem? Richard Armitage reflects on the complexities.
Healthcare professionals deploying to and practicing in conflicts and catastrophes can experience a plethora of negative emotions due to perceived or actual transgressions of their core ethical principles. In his final Ukraine report, Richard Armitage gives a powerful personal reflection.
TDR programmes consist of a low calorie (around 800 kcal/day) formula diet alongside a stepped food reintroduction as well as regular behavioural support. Yusuf Ben-Tarifite examines the evidence for TDR in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Although the GPs may well be aware that the ‘climate emergency’ is also a ‘health emergency, many of us do not make the connection with clinical practice when it comes to taking action. We often fail to realise that the majority of
Bhupinder Goraya muses on the concepts of order and randomness in relation to health and primary healthcare. We’ve worked 'bloody hard' to make a random mechanical universe work, in doing so we have ordered our leisure.
Nada Khan explores the roles of and our perceptions about primary care multidiciplinary teams, in light of the recent BBC Panorama investigation
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant and well-recognised threat to human health in Ukraine. Richard Armitage discusses how this is further complicated by the war.
Over forty years ago, Nicholas Jewson coined the term ‘medical cosmology’ as shorthand for the prevailing theories and practices that defined the nature of medical discourse at that time. Stephen Gillam examines the changing gaze of British GPs in this final part
General practices and staff have been facing violent behaviour or aggression from members of the public -a global phenomenon now an UK issue. Vasumathy Sivarajasingam asks, what's happening, so what, and what now?
