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Opinion - Page 14

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When normal tests end care too early

Medicine is remarkably effective at identifying disease. Yet when symptoms persist without a clear diagnosis, it often falters—not because knowledge is lacking, but because legitimacy quietly evaporates.
13 January 2026
3 mins read

Waiting for a National Health Godot

The phrase ‘we can’t go on like this’ is frequently banded around on social media in relation to the NHS. However, it seems that the staff working within this organisation can, and are; but at what cost?
26 February 2023
1 min read
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Seeing and hearing

Ask any doctor, and they’ll tell you that talking to patients can be difficult. Mind you, ask any patient and they’ll tell you that talking to doctors can be really difficult too. Ben Hoban discusses how we address the problem.
23 February 2023
3 mins read

Putting an end to domestic abuse

For the first time, a coroner in the UK declared domestic abuse as having a causal role in death by suicide. Domestic abuse is a growing public health burden, so what can primary care do to protect individuals experiencing domestic abuse? Here,
17 February 2023
5 mins read
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GPs are far more than gatekeepers…

So, is the description of the GP as a ‘gatekeeper’ outdated?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
15 February 2023
5 mins read
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Repetition breeds contempt not continuity

Imagine having to relive the moment you are told that you have a life-limiting illness every time you need support; every time you feel vulnerable because of a physical or mental complaint that needs attention. Emilie Couchman argues for meaningful informational continuity.
13 February 2023
2 mins read
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Don’t pass me the drink

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), in new guidelines endorsed by Health Canada, recommend that Canadians should have no more than two alcohol-containing drinks per week. Nada Khan explores alcohol advice in primary care.
6 February 2023
5 mins read

Doing too much of nothing?

Is it because people are getting older and sicker, developing more and more chronic diseases as they age and then expecting a magic cure-all that doesn’t exist? Expectations for such, we have all likely fed into.
5 February 2023
3 mins read
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Making it real

When someone asks you whether you’re telling them it’s all in their head, the most accurate answer is: Yes, but isn’t everything?
3 February 2023
5 mins read

How to attract good partners and hold on to them

Finding the right partner is critical. With a generation of senior and capable partners retiring and not being replaced at the same rate, there is a huge concern of seeing this post continue to diminish. Here, Adnan Saad outlines how best to
2 February 2023
3 mins read
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Being philosophical when it’s complicated

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
27 January 2023
5 mins read
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Why barbers have ‘an edge’ on GPs

"When a patient who happens to be a barber comes to see me for a consultation, that is precisely what – and only what – he gets.  When I go to see my barber for a haircut, however, not only do I
23 January 2023
5 mins read
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Be lucky

Ask yourself ‘Do I feel lucky?’ This often-misquoted line from Dirty Harry, said by Clint Eastwood in role, serves to introduce the notion of moral luck. Gratifyingly, we do not often find ourselves staring down the barrel of a violent cop wielding
20 January 2023
6 mins read
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General practice cannot be piecework

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.
19 January 2023
5 mins read

Flag-waving and learning to dance

Ben Hoban suggests that GPs can keep track of more in the consultation by not worrying about keeping track of so much, but instead choosing what to focus on.
13 January 2023
3 mins read

A world without general practice

Tim Senior argues that without GPs we systemically remove the part of the health system that has researched and trained in handling relationships and complexity, and is capable of doing this well. We need to be able to describe what health systems
12 January 2023
2 mins read

Scientists after all

...despite all that science has to tells us in general terms about people and how to care for them, it is often harder to pin down on specifics...
5 January 2023
5 mins read
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A small step towards a greener GP practice…

Ayesha Siddiqui has compiled a list of a few basic steps each member of GP practice staff (clinical and non-clinical) can adopt in our day to day working lives towards reducing our carbon foot print.
4 January 2023
2 mins read
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Addressing discrimination among medical students in primary care

Over the last 50 years society has become progressively diverse as the needs of the population continue to change. As these diversities become increasingly recognised, it has resulted in differences becoming more pronounced and the possibility of discrimination thus becoming more prominent.
3 January 2023
3 mins read
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ChatGPT: what it means for general practice

ChatGPT is an online program allowing a user to ask any question and receive an answer, which can be incredibly detailed, in under 10 seconds. However, what does this mean for primary care? Richard Armitage investigates and puts ChatGPT to the test,
2 January 2023
2 mins read

Avoiding Death

The idea of excess deaths is of course just an attempt to make sense of what’s happening in a complex system with a view to allocating resources appropriately.
30 December 2022
3 mins read

A radioactive chalice?

Seeing patients once and referring them for imaging offers advantages to busy GPs and busy patients alike, but given the tendency of any test to throw up results of unclear significance, wouldn’t we simply be delegating the management of uncertainty en masse
28 December 2022
3 mins read

It’s the sun wot won it

Occasionally, the worlds of media and healthcare can clash in a way that has pronounced consequences in the real world. Whilst the media may intend to inform, they invariably end up influencing a somewhat frenzied, albeit predictable, behaviour in the public.
21 December 2022
3 mins read
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