With the NHS facing unprecedented pressure and horrendous stories emerging about the impact this has had on both patients and staff, we look at what the crisis means for general practice, what representative organisations want the government to do and what steps might need to be taken to help GP practices cope.

We also discuss industrial action - in particular the BMA ballot of junior doctors, which gets underway on Monday 9 January - and we look at the latest GP workforce data and some results from our recent survey that highlight how hard GPs had to work during 2022.

In our good news section we highlight the GPs – and an advanced nurse practitioner – who received awards in the New Year Honours.

Your good news stories

Things are really tough in general practice, but we are always keen to highlight positive news and the good work that is going on in primary care on both the podcast and GPonline.com.

If you are up to anything in your practice or working life that you think deserves attention - or you would like to give a shout out to an individual, practice or other organisation or group that you think is making a real difference, then please do get in touch. You can email us at [email protected].

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower and news editor Nick Bostock. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

Useful links

●     Sunak urged to recall parliament as 'broken NHS' leaves GPs driving patients to hospital

●     NHS under 'intolerable' pressure as flu, COVID-19 and strep A deepen crisis

●     Most GPs exceed safe limit for appointments every working day, poll reveals

●     Decline in GP workforce accelerates as workload continues to surge

●     GPs among those recognised in New Year Honours

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