Primary Care Knowledge Boost

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Respiratory Physiotherapist Thomas James about COPD. We start with what COPD is, when to suspect it, a standard work up, pitfalls and points of consideration about spirometry, before moving on to an overview of management. We then cover some changes in the way COPD exacerbations are managed in South Manchester and the role of Eosinophils in both acute and chronic mana...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Joanna Bircher, Dr Nikesh Vallabh, Shelley Ryder (SWAN PCN Manager and Transformation Lead) and Dr Fran Fitton. We find out what proactive care is all about and then launch into example projects around dementia care that Shelley and Fran are involved in. We hope this gives people a flavour of what proactive care projects could entail in General Practice in terms of...

***SUMMER REWIND  - INITIALLY RELEASED ON 31ST JAN 2024*** To get in touch: primarycarepodcasts@gmail.com Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Pharmacist Sarah Hafeez about Polypharmacy. She explains the difference between inappropriate and appropriate polypharmacy before talking through some typical cases that illustrate several examples of common scenarios.  This leads to discussions on prioriti...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Palliative Care Consultant Lesley Henson and Specialty Doctor Caitriona MacDermott for a discussion on common issues Primary Care Clinicians face when dealing with patients at the end of life and their families. We discuss Hospice admission criteria and the role of the hospice. We then look at how they approach questions around palliative symptoms like breathlessness,...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Palliative Care Consultant Lesley Henson and Specialty Doctor Dr Caitriona MacDermott about Breathlessness as a symptom in Palliative Patients. We start with a case to look at an approach to a patient with deteriorating breathlessness, before discussing a diagnosis of refractory breathlessness. We explore the importance of understanding the subjective nature of this e...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Saadat Ahmed, ST5 in Geriatrics for a deep dive into Osteoporosis. We cover what it is, why it matters, what the risks factors are, who and how to assess for it, and what to do with results from FRAX and DXA scans. After a discussion on lifestyle options to help improve bone health, we ask advice on counselling patients around the pros and cons of taking Bisphospho...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to GPs Dr Joanna Bircher, Dr Lucy Spurrell and Dr Dario Rydel about their experiences in different roles in General practice; salaried, partner and locum. The aim of the episode is for GPs or GP trainees listening to get a flavour of their experiences and to understand the pros and cons of each of those roles in general practice, with a particular focus on the partnershi...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Tim Dalton, a GP in Wigan, and Chair of the Greater Manchester GP Provider Board. The focus of today’s episode is all about how general practice is funded. They cover how it is different from other NHS settings, the sources of income in general practice and the flow of money through the system, DES’, LES’ and QOF, the place of PCNs and Federations, as well as talki...

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined this week by Satty Boyes (Senior programme manager) and  Lorna Laflin (Previous Practice Manager who works with the GP Excellence team). They discuss a new platform in Greater Manchester for the non-clinical workforce within General Practice, which allows staff to explore progression pathways,  track their professional progress, and access learning opportunities al...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Specialty Doctor Caitriona MacDermott about anticipatory prescribing for Palliative patients. An area where there has been much learning over the last several years, it is a good opportunity to get some teaching on why this is the case, the stages involved in recognition and addressing symptoms at the end of life, the need for regular reviews in terms of the potential...

This is the third episode in our MSK mini-series. Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Tom Smith and Charlotte Barker again, who are First Contact Practitioners in Wigan. The focus of this chat is shoulder pain - using a hypothetical case to discuss important history points, red flags, useful examination tips, differential diagnoses and further assessment options. You can use these podcasts as part of y...

This is the second episode in our MSK mini-series. Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Tom Smith and Charlotte Barker again, who are First Contact Practitioners in Wigan. The focus of this chat is shoulder pain - using a hypothetical case to discuss important history points, red flags, useful examination tips, differential diagnoses and further assessment options. You can use these podcasts as part of...

This is the first episode in a three part MSK mini-series, which aims to briefly capture important features in history, examination and further investigations of common joint presentations. Doctors Sara and Lisa speak to Tom Smith and Charlotte Barker who are First Contact Physiotherapists in Wigan. Back pain is the focus of this episode, with a fictional case used to chat through history, examina...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Pharmacist Sarah Hafeez about Polypharmacy. She explains the difference between inappropriate and appropriate polypharmacy before talking through some typical cases that illustrate several examples of common scenarios.  This leads to discussions on prioritising concerns, weaning/stopping medications, counselling patients on the effects of Opioids and Gabapentin...

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak with Dr Anne Connolly, a GP with a special in Gynaecology, trained hysteroscopist, and founding member of the Primary Care Women's Health Forum, where she just stepped down as chair in 2023. They speak about the importance of raising awareness about women’s health problems such as heavy menstrual bleeding, how underappreciated it can be, and the impact it can have on wo...

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Mahindra Chincholkar, a consultant anaesthetist and Clinical Director Manchester and Salford Pain Centre. They take a detailed dive into the concept of pain and chronic pain, and then Mahindra explains his stepwise approach to assessing and managing chronic pain through the use of an anonymous case.  Greater Manchester healthcare professionals have collaborated to...

Doctors Sara and Lisa discuss the podcast episodes over the year. We talk about our longer term learning points, how the year has gone and what's to come. ___ We really want to make these episodes relevant and helpful: if you have any questions or want any particular areas covered then contact us on Twitter @PCKBpodcast , or leave a comment on our quick anonymous survey here: https://pckb.org/feed...

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Sadaat Ahmed about Frailty. We discuss definitions, frailty syndromes, frailty scores and the need to take care with these. We talk through a case to showcase how recognising frailty and managing the controllable areas can make a big difference to patients' lives and slow or even sometimes reverse frailty.  You can use these podcasts as part of your CPD - we don’t...

The importance of addressing climate change and sustainability is gaining more traction across the NHS. In order to find out more about the situation, and what can be done within Primary Care, Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr David McKelvey who is a GP from Salford and NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Clinical Lead in Sustainability in Primary Care. You can use these podcasts as part of your...

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to a GP involved in Primary Care Research Dr Imran Ghafoor and Ewa Grzegorska, a Research Support Facilitator from the National Health and Clinical Research Institute about Research in Primary Care. We talk through Dr Ghafoor’s journey into being part of Primary Care Research, what embarking on Research Projects in Primary Care might look like, from the straightforward t...

To find out more about how Dentistry works in England, Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Greater Manchester Workforce Lead for Dentistry Mukhtar Ahmad. We cover how Dental Services are set up and funded in England and some current challenges. We move on to specific questions about how General Practice and Dentistry can help each other. Themes include; information sharing, Bisphosphonates, Chemotherapy...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Eating Disorder Practitioners Vicky McGee and Rachelle Davies to get their advice on consulting with children and young people who present with features of an Eating Disorder. We take the theoretical case of 14-year-old Suzie, who presents to the Practice alongside her Mum with mood symptoms, reduced eating and weight loss. We use this to guide the discussion a...

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to GPs and Workforce Leads Dr Nikesh Vallabh and Dr Richard Bircher. They wanted to talk to us today to discuss a practical approach to some of the workforce issues we are all facing. This episode will be particularly useful for GP Partners, Practice Managers and anyone interested in workforce issues in General Practice. The clicking into the episode will bring up a larg...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Aseem Mishra to discuss changes in the guidelines for Hypertension. The discussion includes advice on how to get the most accurate diagnosis and measurements for blood pressures, the importance of counselling patients well, and advice on medications. We started with a poem from Aseem focusing around why this is such an important topic. You can use these podcasts as...

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk with Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Mark Spurrell about a framework that can be applied to the care of complex patients with multiple problems or difficulties. It is particularly useful at times where we feel stuck, we are struggling to help or move forward and care may be fragmented with lots of care professionals feeling similarly. The idea is to use a value based approach...