The homeless are a group of people I have a particular passion to try and support. It may be that, being ex-military, I’ve come across a few of my brothers on the streets, or it could be that I can empathise with rough sleepers as I also know how bloomin’ cold it is to sleep…

Christmas lights are coming down, it’s cold outside, the dark months are upon us and the world has a killer pandemic on the rampage, how much worse can it get? Bad news… January and February are going to be some of the toughest months for the NHS in a long, long time. The perfect storm,…

I am a proud veteran of the Royal Navy and so last week, on Trafalgar Day, I was glad to receive information about a new NHS initiative that supports armed forces families. This new NHS England and NHS Improvements initiative is to look at how families of serving personnel, reservists and veterans access NHS services…

It would seem that we in the UK are in the midst of a paradigm shift when it comes to delivering primary care appointments. COVID-19 has demanded that technology plays a full part in the tackling of our patients’ diseases and ailments, and the traditional 10-minute face-to-face (F2F) consultation between clinician and patient at the…

I was shocked to read that reports of domestic abuse have risen by a staggering 20% globally during the coronavirus pandemic – it seems to be an undeclared pandemic in its own right. We’re all aware that domestic abuse goes on; it probably reaches almost every person in the country either directly or indirectly. If…

First of all, I should start this blog by announcing that actually I’m a real advocate of having a healthcare regulator, and having the CQC is a good thing. So, there it is… I’m now officially a social outcast and I await your abuse! Background to the Emergency Support Framework (ESF) It all started on…

Warning! It’s now time to reset the answerphone message from “I’m out of the office indefinitely” to a more welcoming and possibly more professional version. Why? Well, the CQC is coming to a telephone near you! No need for mass hysteria, but the brow does become slightly wrinkled when we ponder what our colleagues at…