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Opinion - Page 22

Small acts. Deep knowing

Presence is not a soft skill. It is the core technology of general practice. In a world of algorithms and assembly lines, our most powerful clinical instrument remains our capacity to know our patients as human beings.
1 April 2026
4 mins read

Un(en)titled

She is young to have so many layers to her suffering. I know about the fragile life she leads on the edge of homelessness ...
10 August 2021
1 min read
1

Football, racism and the NHS

It takes great commitment, responsibility and dedication to save lives at the coal-face of the NHS. Yet we are seeing sharp increases in the abuse, violence and discrimination of our NHS staff. Carter Singh reflects on the way that the Euro 2020
3 August 2021
3 mins read

Looking beyond the obvious

During this pandemic we have sometimes been so overwhelmed by the obvious information that we overlook what is hidden in plain sight. Samar Razaq advises us to avoid premature enumeration.
28 July 2021
3 mins read

A proposal for health and social care

There is a cash crisis in the NHS and Social Care. As there has been for the last decade. Arthur Kaufman suggests that a government issue of Health & Social Care Bonds could raise a substantial amount of finance without imposing further
22 July 2021
4 mins read

A gardener’s world meets general practice

"There is something immensely grounding about working with the earth and weathering the seasons. Gardening is immersive. It slows you down and can be a humbling experience." Charlotte Sidebotham takes us back to the soil.
14 July 2021
3 mins read

Time to accept responsibility

We are given reassurances that the MRCGP exams are fair and unbiased. But Laura Emery, an Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Sheffield, challenges us to ask whether this is correct.
5 July 2021
3 mins read
1

The enigma of empathy

During training, we learnt that a doctor either ‘has’ or ‘lacks’ empathy. But we ALL have empathy in various forms. Rabia Aftab shows us how we can learn to have empathetic consultations.
22 June 2021
3 mins read

COVID and conflict

The recent conflict has led to the Palestinian Ministry of Health offices being bombed and the main Palestinain COVID-19 laboratory being targeted also. Our medical colleagues are overwhelmed and struggling for resources. Abdullah Albeyatti gives us a glimpse as to the conditions
21 June 2021
2 mins read

Pressure building…..

The pressure is building up in General Practice and Primary Care. Will things get better? Will things get even worse? Will General Practice have a future as the greatest of all the medical professions? David Mummery gives us his take on problems
18 June 2021
4 mins read

Facing face-to-face

The role of a GP is not merely clinical management, but committing to a person-centred approach. Might the Covid-19 pandemic have caused us to lose some of that ‘real’ touch with our patients? Rabia Aftab enters the face to face consultation debate.
8 June 2021
3 mins read
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Creating the ‘New different’

The pre-pandemic ‘old normal’ had been broken for a long time. Rather than seeking to develop a ‘new normal’ we should perhaps focus on creating a ‘new different’. 'How?', I hear you ask! Well ...
25 May 2021
4 mins read

New Forms: Identifying GPness through Plato

What is it to be a GP? Many are keen to tell us what extra tasks we should be doing. Sati Heer-Stavert suggests we go back to Plato's theory of forms to reflect on what GPness actually means.
20 May 2021
3 mins read

Rethinking trust: the role of the WISE GP

The upheavals of the last year have meant that trust needs to be managed differently. Joanne Reeve examines the role of both 'scientia' and 'caritas' in the doctor / patient relationship.
18 May 2021
3 mins read

Whose time is it anyway?

We become accustomed as GPs to time being broken up into 10-minute blocks. Time, what was once fluid, is now a regimented 'slot', but to the patient the consultation extends beyond its walls. Exploring the perception of time from both the clinician
11 May 2021
3 mins read
1

Developing trust: More than communication skills

Trust is an essential part of the doctor–patient relationship, but how is it formed, nurtured, and perhaps most importantly, broken? Dr Sheena Sharma writes openly on her own experience of trust, both as a GP and a patient, and at an individual
4 May 2021
3 mins read

Are Social Media Companies the New Big Tobacco?

Anxious and depressed people become preoccupied with their stressors. And if you are worried about covid then social media has become a great place to get more worried. Daniel James is getting concerned about the harm that may be caused by social
3 May 2021
5 mins read

Towards an Interpretive Patient-Centred Practice

Wither GP after Covid? For Peter Toon, if healthcare is to flourish as an activity which promotes human flourishing and produces internal goods such as knowledge, skill, joy and love, not subject to a “zero-sum” rule, then an interpretive function must be central.
30 April 2021
9 mins read

New NICE Guideline – Antidepressants and chronic pain: chicken or egg?

New NICE guidelines suggest that patients with chronic primary pain should be withdrawn from ‘addictive’ analgesic and benzodiazepine medicines – and that ‘non-addictive’ antidepressants should be the only pharmacological option ‘recommended’. For Marion Brown this scenario is fraught with problems - might it
29 April 2021
4 mins read
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