Primary Care UK: Let's Learn Together

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE:  Are you doing justice to your patients with Learning disability?   Irina Varlan interviews senior pharmacist Alison Barr to discuss the important topic of Learning Disability. The discussion underlines the importance of extra effort in assisting these patients access healthcare services because they may face more limitations than others. The podcast continues the ongo...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE Co-host Emma Borders updates Munir Adam and all of us on the current position of Covid-19.  Has the danger really gone away?  How common is it now?  And, most importantly, what should we be doing in Primary Care?  The episode will summarise the current position, and focus on vaccination.    As well as being part of the PCUK podcast team and an experienced practice nurse...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE:  Are we fulfilling the rights of our homeless patients?   Munir Adam has a conversation with Keith and Carla who work at a GP Practice that treats homeless patients.   They share their experiences, insights, and suggestions for how each of us, wherever our practice is based, can provide a better service for this vulnerable group.   Dealing with homeless patients forms...

Send a text THIS IS part 2 of 2 on the topic of Advance Care Planning, and here we consider: The difference that a care plan can make What it should include  What format that it can take   The Universal Care Plan as being an example of this.   SPECIAL THANKS to our guest speakers:  Dr Eva Kalmus, Interface Medicine GP Sutton Health and Care @Home Clinical Lead for End of Life Care Sutton Jodie Gra...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE:  Where did all these new roles come from? We take head-on what could arguably be described as the biggest change in Primary Care for a long time - the transformation of the workforce.  Well embedded GPs and nurses know it, and the newcomers know it.  But what does this mean? Why is it happening?  How do we get it right?  Here is an opportunity to listen to the perspect...

Send a text THIS EPISODE is about why Advance Care Planning is so important for Primary Care.   Clinicians should: Understand why Advance Care Planning is so important The significant difference that planning can make to those critical stages in life Barriers, misconceptions and needs. How each of us can do the right thing when in that situation.    This is part 1 of a 2-part series.    SPECIAL TH...

Send a text THIS EPISODE:  Beware - patients can READILY read what you've entered in their notes! Munir Adam talks to Dr Devin Gray, a GP very much involved with patient access to records, and in fact, despite not being their employee, was invited by NHS England to present the subject.  Q: How ready do you feel that patients will readily be able to read (almost) everything you document? URGEN...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE we briefly visit the role of the GPA (General Practice Assistant) and consider how this can let us focus more on the things that we'd like to do.  - An overview of the GPA role is provided by a representative of NHS England. - Munir Adam has a conversation with a recently qualified GPA about her role - We consider why GPAs exist, what they can do, and how make the...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE:  You explain it all very clearly to the patient, yet they don't do it.  Why?  Munir Adam talks to Caroline Haines to discuss a healthcare topic that is so incredibly important for all to know about, and yet so often overlooked: Health Coaching. SPECIAL THANKS to our guest speaker:  Caroline Haines. Health & Wellbeing Coach & Supervisor. Leatherhead PCN. US...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE we use the example of Primary Care Nursing  to discuss things that are available and important to the workforce to help with job satisfaction.   Three senior nurses discuss the role of the GPN, focusing on: -Opportunities for nurses -Portfolio working -The value of the GP nurse role.   Munir Adam considers how the points may be relevant to all of us. SPECIAL THANKS to t...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE:  A nurse, a Physician Associate & a GP explore the ways in which clinicians can save time when working in Primary Care.  This is based on tips provided by actual working GPNs, PAs and GPs and includes discussion of common ways that time is lost and how to stop that from happening.   Emma Borders and Marium Hanif are part of the PCUK Team and support the podcast by...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE: Saira (GP) and Sarah (Clinical Pharmacist) continue discussing Fit Notes, as many healthcare professionals can now provide these. In this  second of two part series,  the focus is on some of the challenges that clinicians may face in relation to fit note requests. SPECIAL THANKS to the guest speakers: Saira Jawaid, GP & Educator Sarah Partridge, Clinical Pharmacist...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE Munir Adam is pleased to welcome back Dr Ed Pooley, but this time to cover the challenging topic of difficult consultations. SPECIAL THANKS to the guest speaker: Dr Edward Pooley, GP, author of the book Managing Time in Medicine.    USEFUL LINKS: 1.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/difficultconversationsinmedicine/ 2. mybook.to/MTIM 3. Managing time in Medicine course: ...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE A GP and a Clinical Pharmacist discuss Fit Notes, as it is now possible for professionals other than GPs to issue these.   This is the first part of a two part series.  This first part covers the basics of Fit Notes. SPECIAL THANKS to our guest speakers: Saira Jawaid, GP & Educator Sarah Partridge, Clinical Pharmacist We are grateful to Nottinghamshire Alliance Trai...

Send a text This is a bonus episode which is an addendum to episode 10 in season 1 which was about the General Practice Fellowship Scheme.  In this episode, three SPIN-New-to--Practice-Programme Director nurses discuss examples of fellowships that have been going quite well, in order to give a flavour of what's possible. SPECIAL THANKS to Senior London nurses who are also Programme Directors:...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE We continue our Time Management series and listen to someone who is regarded by many as a passionate expert in the area of Consultations.   Whilst maintaining our focus on managing time, we discuss the pleasure that consultations can be. SPECIAL THANKS to the guest speaker: Professor Roger Neighbour, former president of the Royal College of GPs and author of 'The I...

Send a text THIS EPISODE covers the all important topic of when to suspect cancer in your day to day work in Primary Care.  It also marks the start of our mini-episode series where we aim to provide useful information in a succinct way, without the extra talk (mid-month episodes).  Cancer lead Helen Stedeford explains which important things to bear in mind in relation to common cancers, suspicious...

Send a text Do you find time management in General Practice a challenge? We kick off this season with some episodes addressing the all-too-familiar problem of managing time in Primary Care, both within and outside of the consultation.  In this episode Dr Munir Adam speaks to a GP who has a lot of good advice to share with us about how we can manage our time more efficiently.  SPECIAL THANKS to our...

Send a text The first season of Primary Care UK comes to an end, we've listened to your feedback and taken onboard your suggestions.  Season two starts on 1st April and this is a 2 minute trailer of what's to come. Season 2 will consist of a main episode released on the 1st of each month, and an equally important but shorter episode on the 15th.  Along either of these channels we'll...

Send a text Call it recap, revisit, revise or just looking back, here we spend 20 minutes whizzing through the 10 episodes as Season 1 comes to an end.  This can aid recall, check follow-through of any action plans you may have made, and perhaps prompt you to listen again (or listen for the first time) if you wish to. For details of contributors, please refer to the individual episodes. Do rate us...

Send a text THIS EPISODE  is about the General Practice Fellowship Scheme that provides funding to allow GPs and GPNs to pursue interests.  Developed by NHS England and further enhanced  in areas, such as London: The SPIN-new-to-Practice offer:  Munir Adam is joined by a variety of contributors to see how this plays out,  the benefits, the challenges  and even how AHPs, such as Pharmacists in Prac...

Send a text IN THIS EPISODE our host Munir Adam begins discussing a theme that is ever-present in the daily life of many frontline clinicians in Primary Care:  the struggle of keeping to time during consultations.   What are the thoughts about time management?  Why has this happened to us?   What is its impact?  What needs to happen?    Does it even matter? This episode is followed by a series of...

Send a text THIS EPISODE:  As an educator you may find yourself putting on a positive and confident persona, aimed at encouraging your 'students'.  But you are not immune to burnout. Munir Adam is joined by Mary-Rose Shears, Primary Care Dean for South London, who leads us in a discussion about the challenges in supervising and educating our learners and colleagues.  The GPs are joined b...

Send a text THIS EPISODE is about getting it right when providing remote consultations to patients in the GP or Primary Care setting.   It focuses on the sudden increase in remote consultations in recent times, and what issues we should be considering when offering patients consultations in this way.  Munir Adam speaks with Anwar Khan who provides insights into how to do it better. Includes:   The...

Send a text This is part 2 of our special episode in which our host Munir Adam is again joined by Naureen, Jonathan, Sarah and Carrianne, the London team dedicated to addressing the problem of racial discrimination in Primary Care staff.  Having heard about the scale of the problem and the forms that this may take, we hear about:  The 8 workstreams:  Strategies being employed to address the proble...