Clinical Update

In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, MIMS Learning deputy editor Rhiannon talks to pharmacist Rachel Pilgrim about the impact of medication on breastfeeding cessation. Rachel describes how her own experience inspired her research into this area, and discusses how primary care can support patients with consistent, evidence-based information (and where to find this):

‘Medicines shouldn't be a barrier to breastfeeding but ... uncertainty, conflicting guidelines, conservative licensing, and probably patchy training as well, creates a huge amount for prescribers and mums to navigate.’

The discussion covers the public health importance of breastfeeding, physiological factors influencing drug transfer into breast milk, and the relationship between health inequalities and breastfeeding. 

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Explain the public health importance of breastfeeding and recall the WHO recommendation for breastfeeding to 2 years and beyond
• Note UK breastfeeding rates and how these compare with global statistics
• Identify physiological factors that influence drug transfer into breast milk
• Understand the relationship between health inequalities and breastfeeding

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Key prescribing resources:

• MIMS
• Hale's Medications & Mothers' Milk
• The Breastfeeding Network
• UK Drugs in Lactation Advisory Service 
• e-lactancia
• LactMed
• Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS)

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This episode of the Clinical Update podcast discusses the range of feeding, nutritional and gastroenterology problems a GP might encounter in a paediatric population, including gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), cow’s milk allergy (CMA), and malnutrition.

The podcast discusses learning points for primary care professionals around infant feeding and childhood nutrition. It also looks at the stepwise management of GORD, clinical diagnosis of CMA, and the hidden prevalence of malnutrition. 

How to accurately plot faltering growth and when to trigger specialist referrals or safeguarding protocols is also highlighted.

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to: 

• Differentiate between gastro-oesophageal reflux and GORD 
• Identify red flag symptoms in vomiting infants that might indicate urgent secondary care referral
• Recognise the clinical presentation of IgE- and non-IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergy
• Understand the impact of ultra-processed foods on malnutrition in children with obesity
• Apply UK-WHO growth chart thresholds to accurately identify significant faltering growth
• Recall the medical and behavioural differentials for suboptimal weight gain in infants
• Evaluate the role of multidisciplinary teams in managing avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and sensory aversions
• Understand the GP’s professional responsibility regarding safeguarding in cases of growth failure

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Presenters

Sangeeta Krishnan, medical editor

Pat Anderson, editor

MIMS Learning

Twickenham

UK 

Episode produced by Jude Owen

MIMS Learning resources

Malnutrition in children

NICE guidance on GORD in children

Feeding difficulties in infants

Faltering growth

Podcast: Dr Joy Shacklock on child safeguarding in primary care

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) can be asymptomatic and, sometimes, the condition is only identified when a person has had an AF-related stroke. For this reason, according to GP Dr Chris Arden, ‘we need to be far more proactive and more opportunistic’ about identifying AF in primary care. This could involve performing pulse checks at flu clinics or chronic disease clinics, focusing on elderly patients given they are most at risk of developing AF.

Dr Chris Arden talks to Dawn Liz Powell, in this Clinical Update podcast episode, about the diagnosis and management of AF in primary care. He discusses the pros and cons of single-lead ECGs, how to mitigate the risk of bleeding in people on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), and when to refer.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Review the opportunities for AF case finding
• Reflect on the role of lifestyle factors including alcohol consumption in triggering AF in susceptible individuals
• Discuss the emerging role of single-lead ECG technologies identifying AF
• How to mitigate the risk of bleeding in people on DOACs
• Recognise the importance of continuing anticoagulation in frail, older people

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

MIMS Learning Live Digital: 9–12 March 2026

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Atrial fibrillation: diagnosis, case-finding and assessment

Atrial fibrillation: the ABC approach to management

Confidence in Obesity Care

Stroke: clinical review

MIMS

Direct oral anticoagulants for the prevention of stroke

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As of 2026, the UK space industry is a significant and strategic driver of the national economy, contributing over £19 billion in revenue and supporting tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs. Satellite-based services and data underpin roughly 18% of UK GDP, equivalent to approximately £454 billion of the wider economy. And the sector is growing exponentially.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. For the space industry to fully realise its potential it needs more of the right people to understand what’s happening and get involved. People like policy makers, investors, regulators, planners, communicators, lawyers and consultants.

Dr Alice Bunn, the president of UK Space, and her panel of guests, Sam Alden co-CEO of Space Solar, Nick Shave managing director of Astroscale and Anushka Sharma founder of Naaut, discuss the surprising, awe inspiring business of space and make the compelling case for why more companies and investors should get involved. 

Contributors:

Host:

Alice Bunn, President of UKspace 

Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn

UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

Guests:

Nick Shave, Managing Director of Astroscale

Nick Shave FRAeS | LinkedIn

Astroscale: Overview | LinkedIn

Sam Adlen, CEO of Space Solar

Sam Adlen | LinkedIn

Space Solar: Overview | LinkedIn

Anushka Sharma, founder of Naaut

Anushka Sharma | LinkedIn

Naaut: About | LinkedIn

Key topics covered:

Impact of Space on Everyday Life

• Practical Applications
• Environmental Monitoring
• Global Security

Sustainability and Innovation in Orbit

• Space Debris
• Manufacturing in Microgravity
• Space-Based Solar Power

Economic and Regulatory Landscape

• Cost Reduction
• Investment and Finance
• Regulation and Policy

The Future of Space Exploration

• New Platforms
• Academic Contribution

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Mental healthcare is a vital part of general practice. In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, MIMS Learning editor Pat Anderson and medical editor Sangeeta Krishnan discuss case studies that prompt GPs to reflect on their practice.

0.5 CPD hours

This podcast draws on the mental health learning plan, featuring modules written by Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, to highlight important aspects of mental healthcare in general practice. 

It discusses learning from the plan around the mental health needs of patients with cancer, talking openly about suicide risk, and understanding why patients do not attend primary care appointments.

NB: This podcast contains discussion of suicide and self-harm, and how GPs can help patients and colleagues to stay safe. The Samaritans helpline is 116 123.

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to: 

• Recall when risk of self-harm or suicide is heightened following a diagnosis of cancer
• Conduct effective cancer care reviews that encourage exploration of mood
• Understand the concepts of ‘scanxiety’ and healthcare-related anxiety after a cancer diagnosis
• Talk openly about suicide risk with patients and colleagues
• Understand and address barriers to attendance at healthcare appointments

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Presenters

Pat Anderson, editor

Sangeeta Krishnan, medical editor

MIMS Learning

Twickenham

UK 

Episode produced by Jude Owen

MIMS Learning resources

Adult mental health learning plan

Case series: the psychological effects of cancer

Exploring the risk of self-harm and suicide in primary care

Why people miss medical appointments and how to support them

Podcast: interviews with patients and clinical nurse specialists on breast cancer diagnosis and follow-up

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In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, academic GP Dr Sam Finnikin speaks to MIMS Learning’s medical editor Sangeeta Krishnan about the essential role of shared decision-making  in modern primary care. 

Sam talks about why shared decision-making is a legal and ethical responsibility, and how GPs can effectively integrate it into the standard 10-minute consultation. They also discuss the unique challenges of polypharmacy, the art of ‘not doing’ as an active clinical choice, and how to communicate complex risks to patients in a way they can best understand.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Evaluate the role of shared decision making as a fundamental, non-optional approach to every clinical decision.
• Implement strategies to achieve shared decision-making within 10-minute consultations by leveraging continuity of care and splitting decisions over time.
• Apply evidence-based medicine with care to individual patients, particularly those with multimorbidity and polypharmacy who are often excluded from research populations.
• Understand the concept of ‘not doing’ (active watchful waiting) and how it can improve healthcare efficiency and patient outcomes.
• Communicate risks effectively using absolute numbers, natural frequencies, and positive/negative framing to aid patient deliberation.
• Encourage patient autonomy while providing tailored recommendations that incorporate a patient’s individual values and preferences.

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

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Strategies for the safe deprescribing of antidepressants

Case series: polypharmacy in older people with mental health conditions

Polypharmacy in a patient with dementia: nursing home case study

Dr Pipin Singh on best care for nursing home patients

Multiple morbidity: nursing home case study

Guidance update: latest NICE guidelines on hypertension

Depression: clinical review

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Insomnia refers to the persistent difficulty with getting to sleep, maintaining sleep, or quality of sleep that occurs despite adequate opportunity and circumstances for sleep and results in impaired daytime functioning. It can often be a sign of an underlying psychological or physical condition.

In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, MIMS Learning editors Dawn and Pat review how insomnia should be assessed in primary care and how it should be managed. They also discuss related sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and night sweats.

Given sleep disorders can lead to sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness, the editors also look at DVLA regulations on driving with a sleep disorder.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be more able to:

• Discuss the types of insomnia
• Recall pharmacological options for treating insomnia
• Review the risk factors for OSA
• Appreciate the role of the GP in supporting patients with suspected OSA
• Investigate the possible causes of night sweats

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

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Adult obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: clinical review

Confidence in Obesity Care

Insomnia - red flag symptoms

Night sweats - red flag symptoms

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0.5 CPD hours

To find out more about the MIMS Learning Live Digital event mentioned at the start of this podcast, click here.

In this episode, GP and director of the Primary Care Women’s Health Society, Dr Toni Hazell, talks to Pat Anderson about specific changes to the UKMEC recommendations on contraception safety.

She provides key learning points for GPs about how the changes to the UKMEC contraception safety recommendations will apply in  practice. Key issues discussed include the addition of new categories for MS and CKD, an increase in the risk category for depot contraception injections and advice on vaping.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to: 

• Understand how UKMEC aims to protect patients
• Recall how UKMEC’s general risk categories translate to practice
• Understand the latest changes to UKMEC categories and advice
• Reflect on how to apply the changes in practice
• Recall where to seek further advice and resources

MIMS Learning resources

Contraception learning plan

Contraception: the basics 

Complex contraception scenarios part 1

Complex contraception scenarios part 2

Answering patients’ questions on intrauterine contraception

Best use of oral hormonal contraception

MIMS Learning blog

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0.5 CPD hours

To find out more about the MIMS Learning Live Digital event mentioned at the start of this podcast, follow this link.

In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, MIMS Learning editor Pat Anderson and deputy editor Rhiannon Ashman discuss timely diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding, how to assess patients and management options.

They draw on the expertise of MIMS Learning’s professional clinical writers and speakers, to bring you key learning points around GP assessment of abnormal uterine bleeding including heavy menstrual periods, risk factors for endometrial hyperplasia and guidance on assessing and managing unscheduled bleeding on HRT.

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to: 

• Recall the prevalence of abnormal uterine bleeding and why diagnosis of its cause may be delayed
• Take a structured history and ask about key aspects of bleeding
• Deploy the PALM-COEIN classification system to recall the causes of AUB
• List endometrial risk factors and know when to refer to cancer pathways
• Understand key messages from guidance on unscheduled bleeding on HRT
• Be alert to red flag symptoms that suggest a serious underlying cause

MIMS Learning resources

Abnormal uterine bleeding

Abnormal bleeding: tips on diagnosis

Recognition and referral of endometrial cancer

Heavy menstrual bleeding: red flag symptoms

Health inequalities in women: menopause, pelvic floor disorders and endometriosis

MIMS Learning blog

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Increasing ambulance wait times and patient complexity have shifted the role of primary care in managing emergencies. 

In this episode of the Clinical Update podcast, GP and clinical lecturer Dr. Tim Sanders speaks to medical editor Sangeeta Krishnan about the need for extended stabilisation of a patient in primary care because of longer wait times for an ambulance, high-acuity low-occurrence (HALO) events (rare but life-threatening emergencies requiring immediate, expert intervention), and preparedness for emergencies in primary care.

Educational objectives

After listening to this podcast, healthcare professionals should be better able to:

• Evaluate the shifting role of primary care from recognising to managing emergencies
• Implement a structured airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure (ABCDE) primary survey to help identify and manage deteriorating patients
• Distinguish between HALO events and more common emergency presentations 
• Understand the ‘moral load’ and psychological effect  of managing high-risk situations for longer durations on clinical teams
• Empower administrative and reception staff to recognise clinical red flags and trigger emergency protocols effectively
• Use cognitive aids and checklists to reduce cognitive overload during high-pressure clinical scenarios

You can access the website version of this podcast, along with a list of key learning points, on MIMS Learning - and make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

MIMS Learning

Register for a FREE account

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/courses/urgent-oral-and-dental-problems 

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/courses/guidance-update-latest-nice-guidelines-on-sepsis 

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/courses/jaundice-red-flag-symptoms 

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/courses/asthma-diagnosis-and-7-differentials 

https://www.mimslearning.co.uk/courses/asthma-in-children-clinical-review

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