Talking General Practice

This week the team discusses results of a recent GPonline survey that found GPs are conducting 84% more patient contacts per day on average than the level considered safe by the BMA, and ask whether there should be a cap on the number of consultations GPs undertake.

They also talk about mandatory vaccination for NHS staff and the findings of a report from the CQC that found its own regulatory processes may disadvantage against GP practices led by doctors from ethnic minorities.

And, as the government in England abandons plan B and rolls back most COVID-19 restrictions, what is the reaction from the NHS?

Finally, our good news is about a unique art-based social prescribing initiative.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, who is joined by news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     ‘We just can’t keep going endlessly’: GPs speak out over 'undoable' workload

●     GP patient contacts running 84% above safe limit, poll suggests

●     General practice delivered an unprecedented 367m appointments in 2021

●     COVID jab mandate 'under review' as 77,000 NHS staff unvaccinated

●     Social prescribing patients curate art exhibition at leading Cornish gallery

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Talking General Practice speaks to Beccy Baird, senior fellow at health think tank the King’s Fund, about primary care networks.

Beccy talks about how networks are getting on, what support they need to succeed, and how the introduction of integrated care systems is likely to affect them. We also look at whether the additional roles reimbursement scheme is the answer to the challenges general practice faces and what the future looks like for PCNs at the end of this five-year GP contract.

This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

Links to some of Beccy’s work with the King’s Fund

From GPonline’s sister site GP Business - How to make the most of your ARRS roles

General practice recruitment scheme falling short by thousands of staff

Viewpoint: Are PCNs working - and where do they go from here?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking General Practice is going weekly! We will now be available every Friday. One week will feature our news round-up and the following week will be an interview with someone from the world of general practice, taking a more in-depth look at a key issue in primary care.

This week it’s news. The team looks at the pressure general practice is currently under as a result of the Omicron variant, staff absences and soaring patient demand. They also discuss what the huge backlog of care means for practices and weigh up whether the additional roles reimbursement scheme is likely to deliver on its promise of 26,000 more staff in primary care.

There’s also some good news about flu jabs.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, who is joined by news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

'Eventually it will have to break': LMC alert systems show general practice in distress

General practice 'forgotten soldier' as Omicron drives rising pressure on NHS

Progress on recruiting 26,000 staff to support general practice 'very concerning'

Flu vaccine uptake 'highest on record' as GPs jab 81% of over-65s

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the team looks at plans to ramp up the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme and what this means for GPs and their teams.

They also discuss the latest annual GMC State of Medical Education and Practice report and what it tells us about general practice.

In our interview Emma speaks to Dr Ellen Fallows, a GP in Oxfordshire and director of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine’s learning academy. Ellen explains exactly what lifestyle medicine is, the evidence to support its use and how GPs and other clinicians can make use of it in their day-to-day practice.

And we have a Christmas good news story to wrap things up.

This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower, who is joined by news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

British Society of Lifestyle Medicine

GP practices to redeploy staff as NHS demands extra funding to fight Omicron

COVID vaccine 15-minute observation rule looks set to be scrapped

Vaccinated NHS staff no longer need to self isolate ic close contact of Omicron case

Third of GPs at ‘high risk’ of burnout as GMC reveals impact of unsustainable workload

Workload and burnout risk rising fast among GP trainers and trainees

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the team discusses the Omicron COVID-19 variant, changes to the vaccination booster programme and how this could impact on practice workload.

They also talk about the results of the BMA’s industrial action ballot and what went on at the English LMCs conference last week, including the first address by new GPC England chair Dr Farah Jameel and a wide ranging debate on GP and practice staff wellbeing.

In this episode's intereview, Luke speaks to Dr Matt Sawyer a GP in Yorkshire about a new calculator that he has developed to help GP practices calculate their non-clinical carbon footprint and steps practices can take to be more sustainable.

And, while good news seems to be a bit thin on the ground at the moment, there is a positive story from general practice in Wales.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower who was joined by GPonline’s news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     GPs offered £15 per jab as government sets 31 January COVID-19 booster deadline

●     'Line in the sand': GPC chair offers olive branch to government but warns GPs ready to fight

●     More than half of GP practices prepared to pull out of PCNs, BMA ballot shows

●     ‘Utterly toxic’: GPs speak out over abuse and physical attacks on practice teams

●     Welsh GP contract maintains 'total triage' - in stark contrast to Westminster approach on access

●     The GP Carbon Calculator is here https://www.gpcarbon.org/#/

●     You can find Dr Matt Sawyer on Twitter @SEESustainabil1

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re talking about a new inquiry into the future of general practice launched by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, with MPs warning that the profession is ‘in crisis’.

We also look at the decision to introduce mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for NHS staff in England. And we’ll be discussing the election of a new chair for the BMA’s GP committee in England and looking ahead to next week’s conference of English LMCs.

Emma speaks to Dr Veronica Grant a GP in Derbyshire and the RCGP clinical champion for veterans health about the healthcare needs of veterans and steps practices can take to support veterans and military families,

And we have a bit of good news about GP trainees.

The episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower who is joined by news editor Nick Bostock and senior news reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

RCGP veterans’ healthcare toolkit

Veteran friendly practice accreditation

What are the top priorities for the new BMA GP committee chair?

MPs launch inquiry into future of general practice - warning profession is 'in crisis'

Doctors back call to force government to publish NHS workforce planning

COVID vaccine mandate could strip 9,000 staff from general practice

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the team looks at the fallout from the government’s so-called support package for general practice in England. We discuss the BMA’s plans to ballot GPs on different types of industrial action they could take in protest to the controversial plans that fail to address the current workload crisis and could have the opposite effect of making things significantly worse.

We’ll also be looking at the response of some local healthcare leaders to the proposals and what the latest appointment data tell us about how access to general practice is currently working.

In our interview, Emma speaks to Dr Amy Small, a GP in Lothian in Scotland, about her experience of living with long Covid. She talks about how long Covid has affected her life, her family, and her job as a GP - and what she thinks needs to be done to improve services and support for other people affected by the condition.

And we have a bit of good news about booster vaccines.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower who was joined by our news editor Nick Bostock and our senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

A link to the book Dr Amy Small mentioned in her interview (Amazon) Classic Pacing for a Better Life with ME

Top tips: managing long COVID

Our sister site MIMS Learning has the following learning resources on long COVID

●     Guidance update: Long COVID assessment and management

●     Neurological aspects of long COVID - an on-demand webinar

GP industrial action ballot over access plans to end mid-November, BMA confirms

Regional NHS bosses will ignore 'name and shame' GP access plans

Patient choice should determine whether GP appointments are face-to-face, says Javid

GP appointments hit new high as face-to-face contacts surge

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we take a look at the government’s so-called support package for general practice. We discuss what’s in the package, what GPs think about it (spoiler - not much) and what happens next.

We’re also talking about chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty’s appearance at the RCGP annual conference last week and what he had to say about general practice and the difficult winter ahead.

Emma speaks to Dr Richard Mayne a GP in Belfast about the impact of sedentary behaviour in general practice and the importance of promoting physical activity. And we have a bit of good news about research in general practice.

Useful links

GPs overwhelmingly reject access plans as BMA holds emergency meeting

Viability of general practice this winter in doubt, warns BMA

CMO praises GP pandemic response and warns 'exceptionally difficult' winter to come

The Moving Medic - Dr Richard Mayne’s blog

Domestic violence training and support programme shown to increase GP referrals 30-fold

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of our podcast we speak to the chair of the Royal College of GPs Professor Martin Marshall.

GPonline editor Emma Bower spoke to Professor Marshall ahead of the RCGP’s annual conference, which takes place in Liverpool this week.

Professor Marshall discusses the current media storm around face-to-face appointments, what needs to be done to tackle the workload crisis in general practice and why he thinks being a GP is still the best job in medicine. He also tells us what it has been like being chair of the college during a global pandemic.

GPonline is delighted to once again be the college’s media partner for its annual conference, which takes place on 14th and 15th October. We’ll be in Liverpool reporting all the news from the event, which you can read on our website from Thursday morning.

Find all of the news from the RCGP annual conference 2021 here

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode the team talks about the latest GP appointment data and what it tells us about exactly how hard general practice is working. They ask, is the government starting to recognise the important role general practice plays? And they take a look at new government legislation around pay transparency in general practice.

In our interview this week Emma speaks to Dr Rebecca Rosen, a GP in London and senior fellow at health think tank the Nuffield Trust, about continuity care. We discuss what GPs and their teams can do if they want to increase levels of continuity of care in their practice.

And finally our regular good news spot looks at a social media campaign where patients showed their support for their GP.

This episode is presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower who is joined by our news editor Nick Bostock and senior reporter Luke Haynes. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

Continuity of care toolkit and resources from the RCGP

Huge drop in DNAs post-pandemic adds millions of appointments to GP workload

GPs 'singled out' as pay transparency rules threaten fresh wave of abuse

Patients show support for GPs through #ThanksToMyGP social media campaign

BMA polls GPs over withdrawing work or quitting NHS amid mounting abuse

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.