NHS England has estimated that practices spend around 10-20% of their time on 'lower-value administrative work and work generated by issues at the primary-secondary care interface', so what can we do to address this? This week Emma speaks to GP Dr Jonathan Griffiths the associate medical director for Primary Care at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB about work he’s been doing in his area to solve some of these challenges. In this conversation Jonathan explains some of the main problems that happen...
Dec 06, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 16
This week Nick and Emma discuss whether GPs are likely to step up collective action after GPs at last week’s England LMCs conference voted in favour of balloting the profession on ‘more significant’ industrial action. GPs at the event also voted to hold a special conference on the impact that the rise in employers' national insurance contributions, and Nick and Emma explain what that might mean and how it could affect collective action. They also discuss some of the other debates that were of in...
Nov 29, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 15
This week Emma speaks to Kent GP Dr Gaurav Gupta who is a member of the BMA England GP committee and the committee lead for premises. In this conversation Gaurav talks about the terrible state of GP premises in England, how we’ve reached this point and why the government needs to invest in the primary care estate if it is serious about growing the workforce, improving the NHS and moving more care into the community. He also explains what the new premises cost directions could mean for practices,...
Nov 22, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Emma and NIck discuss the fallout from the budget and what the increase in employer’s national insurance contributions will mean for GP practices, including looking at the results from our own survey on this issue. They look ahead to next week’s England local medical committee conference and some of the topics that are up for debate and what they tell us about some of the key concerns facing the profession. And they discuss salaried GP pay, after warnings that the GP jobs crisis is driving down ...
Nov 15, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 13
This week Emma speaks to GP Dr Becks Fisher who is director of policy and research at the health think tank the Nuffield Trust. Becks has long been an advocate for overhauling GP funding so it better reflects deprivation and she explains why this is so important and how the government could go about doing this. She also explains her views on the government’s plans to move care from hospitals to the community, create a neighbourhood NHS and incentivise continuity of care, discusses what the Nuffi...
Nov 08, 2024•36 min•Season 5Ep. 12
This week the GPonline team looks at the GP workforce in England after latest figures show it has risen to a five-year high despite an ongoing jobs crisis that has left many GPs struggling to find work. They also discuss what’s happening with the GP additional roles reimbursement scheme jobs and why the RCGP is calling for a complete overhaul of the NHS long-term workforce plan. And they talk about this week's budget and what it means for general practice and the NHS more widely. This episode wa...
Nov 01, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 11
Emma speaks to GP Dr Simon Opher, who was elected as the Labour MP for Stroud in Gloucestershire in the general election in July this year. Simon was a GP in his constituency for 30 years before standing for parliament. In this interview he talks about why he wanted to become an MP, what being an MP involves day to day and some of the challenges he’s faced in this new role – including going from being in one of the most trusted professions as a GP to the least trusted as a politician. Simon also...
Oct 25, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 10
In this week’s episode Emma and Nick discuss the GP contract in England, where it could go next and what the BMA, the government and NHS England might all be hoping to achieve. And they talk about what could happen to the GP jobs that have been added to the additional roles reimbursement scheme in future. They also explain the RCGP’s decision to say there is no role for physician associates in general practices and look at the college’s new guidance on scope of practice, induction and supervisio...
Oct 18, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Emma speaks to GP Dr Rik Fijten and consultant hepatologist Dr Kosh Agarwal about the NHS in England’s drive to eliminate hepatitis C. The World Health Organization is aiming to eliminate Hepatitis C globally by 2030 and NHS England wants England to become the first country to do this, with a target to achieve this aim by next year. In this podcast Rik and Kosh explains how the NHS is doing against this target and the important role that general practice has to play in helping to eliminate hepat...
Oct 11, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 8
GPonline is the media partner for the RCGP annual conference and this is our third and final special episode from the event. In this episode we look at what health and social care secretary Wes Streeting had to say in his speech to the conference this morning, when he pledged to cut bureaucracy in general practice, called on the profession to step back from collective action and took questions from delegates. Emma speaks to Professor Margaret Ikpoh, the RCGP’s vice chair for professional develop...
Oct 04, 2024•44 min•Season 5Ep. 7
GPonline is the media partner for the RCGP annual conference and this is the second of three special episodes from the event in Liverpool this week. In this episode Emma speaks to Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown, the RCGP’s vice chair for external affairs and Dr Micahel Mullholland, the college’s honorary secretary about what went on at the conference this morning, in particular what RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne had to say in her speech. They also talk about health inequalities, continuity ...
Oct 03, 2024•44 min•Season 5Ep. 6
In the first of three daily episodes we’re producing from the RCGP annual conference Emma speaks to college chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne. Kamila talks about the RCGP council’s recent vote to oppose a role for physician associates in general practice, why funding for general practice needs to change to better reflect deprivation and the current challenges new GPs are facing finding work. She also explains her views on whether the new Labour government will make a positive difference to genera...
Oct 02, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 5
The views expressed are not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or as a substitute for professional medical advice. Patients should consult their physician or qualified health provider regarding their condition and appropriate medical treatment. Individual symptoms, situations and circumstances may vary. In this bonus episode Emma speaks to Dawn Adams, a midwife and menopause advocate who has type 1 diabetes, about how the menopause can affect people with diabetes - based on h...
Sep 25, 2024•31 min•Season 5Ep. 4
GPonline editor Emma Bower and deputy editor Nick Bostock discuss the review of the NHS by Lord Ara Darzi, the government’s response to the report and what happens next - including what might be in the new NHS long-term plan. They also look at another report Lord Darzi was involved with - the IPPR think tank’s final report from its Commission on Health and Prosperity and what that could mean for general practice and the NHS. And they’re talking about health and social care secretary Wes Streetin...
Sep 20, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Emma speaks to Alex Matheson from the LGBT Foundation about the charity’s Pride in Practice programme, which helps GP practices improve the experiences of LGBTQ+ people accessing primary care services. In this conversation Alex talks about the health inequalities experienced by LGBTQ+ people, in particular around access to services and the discrimination some people experience, and how that ultimately impacts on outcomes for this group of patients. She also explains how the Pride in Practice pro...
Sep 13, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Please note: In this episode, we mention that the RCGP allows four attempts at GP exams - but in fact the college allows five in exceptional cases. The GPonline team looks at how much GPs are earning after figures for 2022/23 were published, as well as the uplift to this year’s GP contract and what that could mean for GP partner pay. They also discuss a report from the Tony Blair Institute - a think tank set up by the former prime minister - about AI and the NHS and what that had to say about ge...
Sep 06, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 1
This week Emma speaks to GP and co-chair of the Society of Academic Primary Care Dr Duncan Shrewsbuy about the role academia has to play in primary care – both in terms of teaching and research. Duncan explains why we need more research in primary care, how practices can get more in research or start smaller-scale research projects in their own practice, as well as some of the issues around sharing data from the GP patient record for large-scale research projects. They also explain how changes t...
Aug 23, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 54
This week Emma and Nick discuss the additional uplift to the GP contract for 2024/25, how it is being applied and what it means for GP practices, GP pay and staff salaries. They also talk about the government’s emergency intervention that will see £82m added to the additional roles reimbursement scheme this year so that primary care networks can employ newly qualified GPs and what we know about how that will work. And they look at this year’s GMC State of Medical Education and Practice report an...
Aug 16, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 53
This week Emma speaks to Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA England GP committee, about collective action by GPs, what it means for practices and what the BMA is hoping it will achieve. In this conversation Katie explains why she believes collective action is necessary to achieve a better deal for general practice, what action will involve and how the profession can keep patients on side while it takes this step. She also explains how the BMA’s safe working guidance can help practices an...
Aug 07, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 52
This week Emma speaks to Dr Adrian Hayter, the Royal College of GPs medical director of clinical policy and a GP in Windsor, about the college’s new clinical priority - preventive medicine. In this conversation Adrian explains why the college has chosen to focus on prevention, some of the work it will be doing on this issue and the role general practice has to play in preventing ill health. He also talks about how addressing health inequalities feeds into this work, the resources the college hop...
Aug 02, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 51
This week the GPonline team discusses the BMA’s vision for how to rebuild general practice in England, what both the BMA and the RCGP want from the new government and how the BMA’s ballot on collective action – which closes on Monday – plays into all of this. They also talk about what happens next for physician associates in general practice after a new poll shows public confusion of the role and the RCGP called for a halt to recruitment of PAs in general practice last month. Our good news story...
Jul 26, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 50
Dr Emma Ryan, a GP in South East London and the Royal College of GPs clinical champion for gambling harms, explains the role general practice can play in tackling problem gambling and gambling harms. In this conversation Emma talks about the impact problem gambling can have on individuals and their families, recommendations from NICE’s new guidance on gambling harms and why GPs should ask patients about their gambling habits. She also talks about the support available for patients, a new educati...
Jul 19, 2024•31 min•Season 4Ep. 49
This week Emma talks to Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation think tank, about what a new Labour government could mean for general practice and the rest of the NHS. They discuss Labour’s plans to shift a greater share of NHS funding to primary care and what that could mean for general practice, what the government needs to do to bring down the NHS waiting list, and whether it can do anything to avert collective action by GPs. Tim also explains where the new governme...
Jul 12, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 48
The podcast is out a bit early this week because of the election. In this week’s episode Emma and Nick discuss the BMA ballot on collective action, and look at the case of a practice in Cambridge that has handed back its contract despite having high patient satisfaction scores to explain why funding for general practice is now a critical issue. Nick also explains what action practices could take if the ballot is successful. They also talk about new NHS England pilots, which will be looking at ho...
Jul 04, 2024•40 min•Season 4Ep. 47
Emma speaks to Labour’s shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting about the party’s plans for general practice if it wins next week’s general election. Mr Streeting discusses what Labour would do to address the GP jobs crisis – which has seen thousands of GPs struggling to find work – and why Labour believes general practice should receive a greater share of the NHS budget. He also explains his views on the GP partnership model, how he hopes to avert possible collective action by GPs...
Jun 28, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 46
Emma speaks to Nottinghamshire GP Dr Carter Singh from the Rebuild General Practice campaign about what the campaign is hoping to achieve, what it is doing during the general election, and how it hopes to influence the new government. Carter also explains the key issues that he thinks the new government needs to address, the importance of investing in more GPs and his views on the BMA ballot on collective action, which launched this week. This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower....
Jun 21, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 45
The GPonline team looks at the GP employment crisis and concerns about what job opportunities await the many GP registrars due to qualify this summer. They highlight the latest news from the general election, discussing the BMA’s manifesto and what the political parties have been saying about general practice in their manifestos. And the talk about GMC regulation of physician associates after the regulator set out some further details about how this will work. Our good news story this week is ab...
Jun 14, 2024•35 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Emma speaks to GP Dr Farnaaz Sharief who is also the chief executive of Manage your Mind which works with NHS and social care staff to help develop mental resilience. Farnaaz talks about mental wellbeing in the NHS, what mental resilience means and why it is so important. She also has lots of practical advice on how people can boost their mental resilience to help them cope with stress and pressures - both inside and outside work, how to support friends and colleagues experiencing stress, what p...
Jun 07, 2024•28 min•Season 4Ep. 43
The GPonline team discusses the BMA ballot on collective action, which launches in June and what the general election could mean for that and general practice more widely. They talk about the Royal College of GPs call for an overhaul of GP funding so that it better addresses health inequalities and a wider report the college has produced on how to reverse the inverse care law. And they round up what went on at last week’s UK local medical committees conference. Our good news story this week is a...
May 31, 2024•42 min•Season 4Ep. 42
This week Emma talks to Tara Humphrey, founder and CEO of THC Primary Care, which provides management support and training to primary care networks across England. Tara is also the host of the Business of Healthcare podcast. Tara explains what makes a successful network, some of the challenges networks have to overcome and the positive side of the additional roles reimbursement scheme. She also talks about how the 2024/25 GP contract could affect PCNs, why financially secure GP practices are cru...
May 24, 2024•30 min•Season 4Ep. 41
