Alzheimer’s disease is the commonest cause of dementia. In this podcast, GP Sally Higginbottom interviews Dr Clare Wadlow, Consultant in old age psychiatry on practical tips in assessing and managing patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

In this RCGP podcast, Dr James Matheson, RCGP Chair of the Health Inequalities Standing Group talks to Christiana Melam, CEO of the National Association of Link Workers about how those in primary care can best work with Social Prescribing Link Workers. They discuss the what a Social Prescribing Link Worker is, their role in addressing health inequalities, specialist roles evolving from Link Workers working with particular groups of people e.g. vulnerable patients, the challenges facing individual Link Workers as well as the Link Worker profession, the do’s and don’ts of how primary care teams can best welcome and support Link Workers and what needs to happen to ensure that the Link Worker role is sustainable. More information can be found at https://www.nalw.org.uk/ 

Reviewed and updated: November 2024

As of early June 2021, 1.5% of the population were experiencing self-reported long COVID. In this podcast, Dr Sally Higginbottom talks to Dr Gail Allsopp, Clinical Policy Lead at RCGP leading on Long COVID, a GP and Long COVID Clinic GP in Derbyshire about the Long COVID including its definition, people who are affected, common symptoms, investigations, diagnosis and prescribing for patients with Long COVID as well as the differences in the model and focus of Long COVID clinics. 

Global incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is between 1 and 2 per 1,000 adults annually. In this podcast Dr Thomas Round, EKU Clinical Lead discusses with Dr Nicholas Jones, a salaried GP, GP Cardiologist and a Wellcome Trust Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, the diagnosis, management and thrombophilia testing of venous thromboembolic diseases including the changes in the approach to assessment recommended by NICE and how the new guidelines have adjusted their recommendations around anticoagulation treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition, but if treated early with disease modifying drugs then it can sometimes be put into long-term remission. In this podcast, Dr Toni Hazell and Dr Danny Murphy discuss the need to treat rheumatoid arthritis at an early date as well as some of the less commonly covered areas of management, including psychological issues, contraception and fertility and drug monitoring during COVID.

Reviewed and updated: July 2024

This podcast features a discussion between Dr Kevin Barrett, a GP in Hertfordshire and Maralyn Druce, a Professor of Endocrine Medicine. Topics include:

Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Reviewed and updated: December 2024.

Pollen food syndrome is a common allergy, characterised by a very rapid onset of mild symptoms which resolve quickly. Serious reactions such as anaphylaxis are rare. In this podcast, Dr Toni Hazell and Dr Isabel Skypala discuss the interaction between pollen food syndrome and hayfever and how to differentiate between pollen food syndrome and primary food allergy. They also cover the immediate treatment of pollen food syndrome, when to refer to an allergy clinic and which patients might need an adrenaline auto-injector.

Reviewed and updated: June 2024

Allergic rhinitis and asthma are common conditions which affect a single airway and are therefore inextricably linked. In this podcast, Dr Toni Hazell and Dr Glenis Scadding discuss the links between asthma and allergic rhinitis, when to suspect that a rhinitis may be non-allergic, the importance of trigger factors and the use of immunotherapy for the treatment of allergy.

Reviewed and updated: June 2024

Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in the UK leading to 3.5 million primary care visits every year. In this EKU2020.3 podcast Dr Thomas Round, a GP and RCGP Essential Knowledge Update (EKU) Clinical Lead discusses the condition of acne vulgaris with Dr Angelika Razzaque, a GP partner and trainer in South East London and Executive Chair of the Primary Care Dermatology Society (PCDS) Executive Committee.

Syncope is defined as transient loss of consciousness due to cerebral hypoperfusion; it is a common problem which will affect an estimated 15-20% of children before the end of adolescence. The cause is usually benign, but it is important not to miss syncope due to a cardiac cause. In this podcast, Dr Toni Hazell talks to Professor Lesley Kavi about the different causes of syncope in children and young adults. They also discuss how to diagnose and manage the condition in primary care.

Reviewed and updated: June 2024