Conversations of opportunity in diabetes care

Consultations in healthcare practice are often described as a science; the process of gathering and extracting information in a structured manner with the aim of arriving at a care planning...

Hormone replacement therapy: update and practical prescribing

Symptoms are experienced by around 70-80% of women during the perimenopause and menopause (O'Neill and Eden, 2012). The symptoms are varied and include vasomotor symptoms, such as flushing and night...

Unseen, unheard, undervalued: advancing research on registered nurses in primary care

Canada is a federal system wherein ten provinces and three territories have the responsibility to administer and deliver healthcare, including the licensing of health professionals (Deber, 2018).

Are BAME communities really reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccination?

The RSPH commissioned a poll on public attitudes to the COVID-19 vaccine. They asked respondents ‘How likely or unlikely would you be to take a COVID-19 vaccine if you were advised by your GP or...

The legacy of the Ten Point Plan for general practice nurses

Standards for education programmes for nurses new to general practice, developed in partnership with GPNs and educators have also been published, providing consistency for all GPNs who are undertaking...

Spread the word: vitamin D is key for post-menopausal women

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common medical conditions in the world (Sizar et al, 2020). It is highly prevalent in older adults in Northern Europe (McCarroll et al, 2015). One in eight over...

Student nurses in the primary care network: a pilot

The practice education team (PET) for South East London successfully bid for the development funds from Capital Nurse to develop and implement the project of placing students in the PCN rather than...

Recognising the important role of nurses in general practice

The general practice workforce is made up of multidisciplinary teams working together across primary care networks (PCNs) in order to deliver care for their local populations. It is clear that general...

CARE: a new approach to change in primary care

CARE (Connected, Authentic, Resilient & Empowered) was developed in order to address these three issues. A practical, person-centred and locally owned change management, leadership and resilience...

The power of practice nursing to galvanise the system

The value of primary care nursing

The value of primary care nursing has never been recognised or valued more than it has over the last year. Recognition, credit and appreciation from the public is at an all-time high. Applications to...

Understanding personal asthma action plans

The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) (Royal College of Physicians, 2014) investigated the clinical records of 195 adults and children who died of asthma between February 2012 and January 2013....

Understanding the pathogenesis of heart failure

Normally, cardiac physiology is able to meet the body's metabolic demand through sufficient cardiac output (CO) defined as stroke volume (ml) eg 70 ml, x heart rate (beats per minute) e.g. 70b pm,...

Managing otalgia in general practice

A thorough history is needed to guide clinicians towards making an accurate diagnosis. A detailed history of the degree and severity of pain, any discharge from the ear (otorrhea), hearing loss,...

Supporting people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic

‘Dementia is a syndrome – usually of a chronic or progressive nature – in which there is deterioration in cognitive function (ie the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected from...