Lisa and Sara talk to GP and Professor of General Practice Research Carolyn Chew Graham about Long COVID. We discuss what Long COVID is, its prevalence, and how to assess and manage those presenting with symptoms of possible Long COVID in primary care. We also talk about the condition in children, Long COVID clinics, and how to support patients on this still very new journey. Hopefully this episode will help support learning for the new Long-COVID enhanced service that has recently been launched...
Aug 04, 2021•33 min•Ep. 65
This episode is another of our lovely chats with wider members of the primary care team. Today Lisa and Sara speak to Laura Butroid, a pharmacy technician who is working in primary care. She gives insights into the varied roles of a pharmacy technician within primary care, and how this differs from a pharmacist. She also discusses what the training looks like and what the supervision and registration side entails. ___ The National Pharmacy Association (NPA): https://www.npa.co.uk/ Buttercups Int...
Jul 21, 2021•23 min•Ep. 64
Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Amar Rughani and Dr Joanna Bircher to discuss team working in the context of leadership. We focus on specific examples of some potential conflicts within the primary care team such as when members of a team do not get on and how to manage interruptions of a surgery. ___ Amar Rughani and Joanna Bircher (2020): The Leadership Hike, Shaping Primary Care Together, First Edition, CRC Press: https://www.routledge.com/The-Leadership-Hike-Shaping-Primary-Care-Together/Rugh...
Jul 07, 2021•42 min•Ep. 63
Lisa and Sara talk to practice managers Amanda Ormesher and Karen Bradshaw about the role of the practice manager in general practice. This is a great episode to find out more about the role and how varied it is. We go through what a practice manager is, the different remits of practice managers and some learning points about the role for new staff coming into primary care. Their passion and dedication are uplifting to hear. ___ Greater Manchester Primary Care Careers: https://gmprimarycarecaree...
Jun 23, 2021•34 min•Ep. 62
Lisa and Sara talk to Occupational Therapist and Advanced Clinical Practitioner Payal Wilson about the role of occupational therapists in primary care. She talks about how to become an occupational therapist, the training involved, and how occupational therapists might work in primary care (their remit and the roles they could take on). She also discusses her current career, the advantages of occupational therapists in advanced clinical practitioner roles, and considerations (including supervisi...
Jun 09, 2021•29 min•Ep. 60
Lisa and Sara talk to Geriatrician Dr Emma Vardy & GP Dr Helen Martin all about Delirium. If we pick delirium up early and treat the right cause it can make a world of difference to patients and families. They share some great tips on how to diagnose and remember the list of causes. We also discuss the Greater Manchester delirium toolkit which was developed for use in the community to act as a framework for assessment and management of delirium. ___ Greater Manchester Community Delirium Tool...
May 27, 2021•55 min•Ep. 61
In this episode Lisa and Sara discuss the topic of Primary Care Networks with Vicky Tolliday (Nurse, Director of the social enterprise “Better Health Manchester”, and Clinical Director of a Primary Care Network), and Dr Girish Patel (GP and Clinical Director of a Primary Care Network). They explain some of the basics about Primary Care Networks; what they are, their structure, leadership and their purpose. They also cover some aspects of funding including Directed Enhanced Services (DES), discus...
May 12, 2021•36 min•Ep. 59
By popular demand we are delighted to share this talk about managing peri-menopausal symptoms in general practice! Dr Jacquelyn Gatenby joins us to discuss her approach; starting with common symptoms, alternatives to HRT, who she feels we should be offering HRT to, and the pros and cons of HRT. We talk about the contraindications, her process for deciding which type of HRT to give, and where testosterone and contraception fit in. ___ Discussion of the history of studies around the safety of horm...
May 05, 2021•44 min•Ep. 58
Dr Amar Rughani returns to the podcast today to share some great leadership and life skills. We spoke to him in a previous episode about the big picture of leadership skills and why they matter. In this episode we take a dive into the specifics around getting to know ourselves and how this can be useful both in leadership as well as our everyday lives. We discuss that what drives and inspires us will energise us, and why being our authentic selves can make for better leaders. He talks us through...
Apr 21, 2021•33 min•Ep. 57
We are joined by Paediatric Consultant Dr Christos Zipitis to discuss a great overview of infant feeding issues. It was fabulous to go over definitions, presentations and management of colic, gastro oesophageal reflux and reflux disease, lactose intolerance and cow's milk protein allergy. We later touch on the resource ICON designed to help parents cope with crying babies. Thoroughly worthwhile learning for all the general practice team. ___ The GP Infant Feeding Network (UK): https://gpifn.org....
Apr 14, 2021•44 min•Ep. 56
In this episode, we speak to safeguarding nurse lead Sarah Khalil, and adult safeguarding GP lead Dr Rebecca Marchmont about managing self-neglect in adult patients. We discuss the difference between neglect and self neglect, the importance of recognising both, the fundamentals of capacity, where other teams can fit in, and practical tips to help manage these patients. We hope you find the discussion as useful as we did. ___ Greater Manchester the Self-Neglect Assessment & Management flowcha...
Apr 07, 2021•32 min•Ep. 55
Lisa and Sara talk to senior physiotherapists Judith Dawson and Joanne Roberts about how they became involved in physiotherapy in primary care and the roles of physiotherapists in this setting, including First Contact Practitioners. Having been part of enhancing primary care access to physiotherapy throughout the years, it’s great to get their perspectives on the role now and what it might look like in the future. We take the opportunity to get their top tips for managing knee osteoarthritis and...
Mar 24, 2021•26 min•Ep. 54
The COVID pandemic caused an upheaval to the endoscopy services for suspected upper and lower gastrointestinal malignancies. To talk us through the changes in how referrals are managed and what that means for us in general practice and our patients, we’re joined by GPwSI in Gastroenterology Dr Sophie Nelson and Consultant Gastroenterologist Dr Alistair Makin. Our discussion includes using FIT tests to risk stratify patients with suspected lower GI malignancies, the use of the Edinburgh Dysphagia...
Mar 17, 2021•37 min•Ep. 53
The next in our series talking about additional roles in primary care is all about paramedics in general practice. Lisa and Sara speak to Scott Murray, who has been working as a paramedic within primary care for some time now, having transitioned through acute care and urgent care. He talks us through his journey, why he chose to move to primary care and some tips for both paramedics and the general practice team about how to make that transition. ___ Health Education England: Paramedics in Prim...
Mar 03, 2021•31 min•Ep. 52
Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Amar Rughani to discuss his approach to leadership. We talk about the importance of considering our influence, place in the world and how to achieve our goals. We consider our motivations for doing what we are doing in life; the importance of taking that step back to really consider why, how and what we are doing in the world and in general practice. From this we can then consider what we want the future to look like. Future episodes will then focus on how to get t...
Feb 17, 2021•39 min•Ep. 51
As part of their mini-series in Primary Care New Roles, Lisa and Sara spoke with Physician Associate Ricky Staniland to get an idea of how he became a Physician Associate in General Practice and what his role includes at present. Definite learning points were just how varied and useful Physician associates can be in practice. As part of her role as clinical director of Primary Care Workforce and Greater Manchester Training Hub, Dr Ali Lea joins the discussion. ___ Greater Manchester Primary Care...
Feb 10, 2021•30 min•Ep. 50
To teach us more about the New Roles in primary care, as well as the development of existing roles in general practice, Dr Ali Lea and Primary and Community Nurse Lead Lesley Royal-Price join us. The plans for Primary Care Work Transformation are described as ‘making sure we have the right team to deliver the best care looking after people the right way for them’. A great tagline that about sums it up. ___ Greater Manchester Primary Care Careers: https://gmprimarycarecareers.org.uk/jobs/ Nursing...
Feb 03, 2021•26 min•Ep. 49
Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Adam Abbs about remote consulting. Dr Abbs is a GP who has written a handbook about remote consulting which has been accredited by the RCGP. Remote consulting has been in our lives for quite some time now, and this doesn’t look likely to change anytime soon so we thought it was worth getting some more hints and tips to make us all the best remote consulters that we can be. We talk about common pitfalls, how to do some examinations remotely and a couple of special situati...
Jan 20, 2021•29 min•Ep. 48
Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Uma Marthi (GP with a Special Interest in Gynaecology) to discuss some common gynaecological presentations in young girls up to teenage years. She takes us through her approach to vaginal bleeding in neonates, vaginal itch in toddlers, breast development and vaginal discharge in teenagers. The British Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology (great patient leaflets): https://britspag.org/ Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology guidelines: https://www....
Dec 09, 2020•38 min•Ep. 47
Primary Care Knowledge Boost has teamed up with the Greater Manchester GP and GP Nurse Fellowship schemes as well as the Additional roles in General Practice scheme to incorporate episodes related to these topics into our schedule. Here to explain what fellowships are is GP and GM training hub Clinical Lead Dr Gill Tonge. It was really interesting to hear the thinking behind the fellowships and hear the aims of supporting doctors and nurses after the first year of qualifying. The content is free...
Nov 25, 2020•26 min•Ep. 46
In this episode, Lisa and Sara speak to consultant neurologist, Dr Matt Jones about headaches. The discussion has a focus on the diagnosis and categorisation of common headaches with a touch of management at the end. We talk through where Dr Jones starts when taking a headache history and how he categorises them. We also discuss features that would be concerning to him, as well as thinking about who he would admit on the day. We then go through examination in the light of COVID-19 and helpful ti...
Nov 11, 2020•39 min•Ep. 45
Lisa and Sara are joined by GP and HIV lead for Greater Manchester Dr Marlon Morais and Yvonne Richards, an inspiring positive speaker from George House Trust to talk about HIV in Greater Manchester. We cover what it is, it’s prevalence and opportunities for testing. We then go on to speak about the importance of early diagnosis and effective treatment before hearing from Yvonne about her personal journey with HIV that led her to become a passionate advocate for women living with HIV. The resour...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 44
In this episode Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Avril Danczak, a GP with an interest in managing uncertainty in medicine which led to her co-authoring the RCGP published book called Mapping Uncertainty in Medicine. We cover what uncertainty is, and why it is important to address this within medicine and general practice. We talk about ‘what to do when you don’t know what to do’, how to classify and identify different forms of uncertainty and then think about how you can go about addressing and managing...
Oct 14, 2020•30 min•Ep. 43
This week’s podcast episode is all about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome with Tameside Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Dr Mahshid Nickkho-Amiry. It’s a detailed look at the subject using an example case, following this from diagnosis to management. Useful resources: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists - Patient Leaflet on Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (2015): https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos-what-it-means-for-your-long-term-h...
Sep 30, 2020•49 min•Ep. 42
Managing the common palliative symptoms of nausea, vomiting and constipation can make a world of difference to the quality of life of our patients. This week, Lisa and Sara are joined again by Drs Liam Hosie and Anna Murray to continue their discussion about managing palliative patients in general practice. We cover important features in a history that point to the cause of symptoms for nausea/vomiting and constipation. The causes of nausea and vomiting are then broken down to four categories an...
Sep 16, 2020•33 min•Ep. 41
To help us brush up on managing palliative patients with pain, Lisa and Sara speak to Dr Anna Murray (Palliative Care Specialist, WWL) and GP Lead Dr Liam Hosie (Palliative Care and GP, WWL). We start with a general approach to pain and then move on to consider the causes, discuss opioid titrations as well as adjuvant therapies. We also touch on agitation and breathlessness and when to consider changing the routes of medication. Useful resources: GMMMG Palliative Care Pain and Symptom Control Gu...
Sep 02, 2020•35 min•Ep. 40
Early diagnosis of cancer is a huge priority in order to try to improve our cancer survival rates in the UK. Lisa and Sara took the opportunity to speak to Dr Sarah Taylor, GP in Fallowfield and Cancer Research UK Cancer Diagnosis Lead for Greater Manchester about this important subject. It was recorded pre-Covid-19 and so some of the information given about services might have changed in your local area. We thought the general tips about picking up cancer as early as possible were incredibly us...
Aug 19, 2020•36 min•Ep. 39
Good consultation skills can hone diagnosis, management plans, safety-netting and safety thereby really affecting patient outcomes. GP and Primary Care Educator Dr Avril Danczak shares her insights into teaching GP trainees and trainers about consultation skills with Lisa and Sara. Useful resources: Health Education North West Advanced Communication Skills Resources https://www.nwpgmd.nhs.uk/resources/advanced-communication-skills-reading-list Article: Kaiser Permanente: Enhancing Clinician Comm...
Aug 05, 2020•38 min•Ep. 38
As part of her role as Associate Dean in Health Education North West, Dr Alison Caldwell looks after GP trainees who sit the AKT and those that may fail. In this episode she shares her pearls of wisdom for preparing and sitting the AKT. It has lots of useful information for trainees and trainers including how to break down the curriculum and where to best focus learning as well as how to actually do that learning effectively. We also cover how to improve exam technique as well as useful resource...
Jul 22, 2020•26 min•Ep. 37
Lisa and Sara bring back Dr Joanna Bircher and Dr Viren Mehta for this last episode in the COVID-19 series to reflect on all of the positives that have come from the outbreak in general practice, the personal and professional learning that they have had and some focus on staff wellbeing with a few simple ideas on how to support each other. Thank you to Practice Managers Sara Mayer at Archwood Medical Practice and Michelle Davenport at Heaton Mersey Medical Practice for sharing their insights too...
Jul 08, 2020•26 min•Ep. 36
