Jeremy W Tankel discusses how previously successful approaches to telephone and in person GP consultations are proving problematic in the COVID-19 era - what's the answer?
On the 14th March 2020, the emergency plan for family practice started in Belgium. Primary care networks are already proving that they have an added value through communication of relevant news, fostering local peer review and creating the sense of belonging to
Three weeks into the job the thing that keeps me awake at night are the vulnerable patients at risk of domestic abuse confined in their homes. Primary care is the common ground that these patients cross most frequently.
When we finally emerge from the current pandemic, more women and children (throughout the world) will have suffered from and be experiencing the consequences of domestic abuse than ever before. Therefore, during this COVID-19 lockdown and afterwards we need to stay alert
Australia now has one of the flattest COVID-19 curves in the world, one of the lowest death rates. Maybe much of our success is based again on luck. The response of the government to the epidemic was initially a little lethargic, but
What does it mean to be human? Philosophers and scientists alike have struggled since time immemorial to capture the vastness of the human experience and answer this very question. Let us start with the fundamentals — we are a primate. Not the
At the time of writing the government and the NHS are reeling from the dramatic suddenness of a contagious crisis for which we are largely unprepared. Within a few days the necessary perspectives and needs of public health have prevailed: autarkic NHS
Over the past few years we have heard a lot about burnout, about the importance of looking after ourselves and our teams, and about the impact feeling burnt out can have on our patients as well as ourselves. How do we bring
The differences between US general practice and GPs in the NHS could not be more stark. The NHS supports the ability for GPs to adapt to changes, even catastrophic ones, without threatening to bring the entire system down. Once we are beyond
For decades, digital health has promised to help address many of the challenges of primary care. Digital-first approaches, using either telephone, video or online technologies to deliver care, have the potential of improving efficiency and patient safety, and reducing health inequities by
Ambra Abate MD is an Italian doctor working at Ambulatorio Polispecialistico Casazza in northern Italy. He describes his primary care clinical experience with COVID-19.
The NHS put out a call for all recently retired doctors and nurses. There is however another potentially untapped resource. Many GPs are well but self-isolating due to household members. Learn more about volunteering to work at home and with NHS 111.
Rather than re-invent the wheel, the GPs at Penshurst Gardens Surgery are utilising the established Kübler-Ross stages of grief in an innovative way to help diagnose COVID mental health problems and explore the available options to guide personalised, compassionate care.
The government has highlighted patients most at risk in the COVID-19 pandemic due to their physical health problems. In primary care we will also be aware of patients who are particularly vulnerable due to social circumstances. We know that women involved in
Is the best strategy to strike hard and wipe out the pandemic early in a country or to let it go on and flatten the curve until herd immunity develops? The Swedish strategy is based on thorough information and gentle advice trusting
Like many, I’ve always had a slight mental block with telephone consulting as there is so much value for the both the patient and the doctor in real contact. However, I want to take a positive approach to change, and be part
We propose the following near telemedicine protocol for GPs – a modified version of that recently proposed by Gunasekera for ophthalmologists.
Upon hearing the World Health Organization report° that a novel coronavirus had caused a respiratory illness in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, I didn’t think it would have much of an effect on me as a GP working in inner city London. How
Jason Sarfo-Annin is a GP Registrar and ACF in Primary Care at the University of Bristol. he role of GP registrars during the pandemic will be important. Registrars will be at varying levels of comfort with telephone triage and they are now
Samuel Trethewey is a Clinical Research Physician working in general practice in Cornwall. His interests include clinical research and combatting medical misinformation online. Kathryn Beck is a Research Nurse and coordinates the running of clinical trials at a general practice in Cornwall.
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to pose an unprecedented challenge to the NHS’ provision of healthcare over the coming months. Epidemiological modelling predicts a burden of disease at least 8-times greater than current critical care capacity... Practices across the country, including Somerset’s
Lebanon diagnosed its first case of COVID-19 on February 21, 2020. After one day, policy makers launched a massive educational campaign to educate the public on how to prevent this virus. A week later, closure of nurseries, schools and universities was in
One of the other customers, a regular like me who knew I was a doctor, rushed in to save me: ‘No, no. This lady is doing good work in this country.’ I surely am. I work for the NHS during the COVID-19
This guide, written by Roger Neighbour and experienced senior colleagues, is an aide-memoire for clinicians conducting telephone consultations to assess and advise patients concerned they may have coronavirus.
Many practices are now using or considering using alternatives to face-to-face consultations because of concerns about Covid-19. Important new information and guidance is now available to support video consultations. Produced by researchers at the University of Oxford, the document covers five key