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Coronavirus - Page 3

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Shaking hands again

"We tended to turn door knobs with our elbow or to press elevator’s buttons using our house keys. As time passes, these somehow obsessive behaviours have been gradually abated, but I feel some subconscious concern still remains. In my personal experience, I
17 September 2025
3 mins read
3

COVID-19 in Wales and Liberia

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
7 September 2020
4 mins read

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COVID-19: hard lessons

Cummings is the third senior figure involved in dealing with the pandemic to have broken the rules, and the fallout has added to the litany of incoherent messaging, opaque decision making and fumbling management that has characterised the handling of the crisis.
29 May 2020
4 mins read

Treating the pandemic of fear

A day does not go by where I do not speak to patients suffering from anxiety in one form or the other. The untold harm being done to their mental health does not make the daily evening government briefings. Other health phenomena
28 May 2020
3 mins read

Recognising the cognitive load of remote consulting

Do you find remote consulting tiring? There is no argument about the current utility of remote consulting but we must recognise that we are thinking differently, and then to ask why and at what cost? We should explicitly recognise the effort in
19 May 2020
3 mins read

Covid-19: Learning lessons from the deaths of our colleagues

Many GPs and NHS staff have died from COVID-19. Whether our colleagues contracted the virus at work or whether they were provided with adequate protection in their workplaces is, at present, not known. Without adequate investigations into these deaths, these questions will
18 May 2020
3 mins read

Video consulting: not just a consultation plus tech

The lure of new video consulting technology is enticing. Nationally recognised figures have even suggested that video consulting is just the same as a face-to-face consultation, but with some added tech at the beginning. It is not that simple. We publish guidance
15 May 2020
4 mins read
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