NHS England is likely to avoid new conflicts over GP contracts and concentrate on recruitment, its new head of primary care has said. Dr Amanda Doyle, director of primary care at NHS England, told MPs yesterday that there would not be a “big bang” to rip up the contract and start again. She spoke after…

A GP and a GP practice have been recognised for their contributions to research and innovation. The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) and the Royal College of GPs say the Practice Award and the First5® Award acknowledges the “excellent” contributions of NHS clinicians to research and recognises GPs with an emerging interest or experience in…

People dying with dementia have reduced need to go to hospital at the end of life if they have good continuity of care at home, according to a UK study published today. The study by King’s College London, published in the British Journal of General Practice, says transitions to hospital are distressing for patients and…

I’ve often thought that instead of all the ridiculous standards imposed on us, we’d be better off with a version of the Friends and Family test to check our performance. However, this week has killed that particular thought. Staff have been shouted at and I’ve been sworn at. Usually, it’s water off a duck’s back,…

Practices are to get digital flags on patient records alerting them to patients who have firearms licences, it was announced today. The move was welcomed by senior GPs today as it allows doctors to take action if they come across patients who are unsafe to keep firearms. Under the plans practices will not immediately get…

The NHS in England faces a “crippling shortage” of GPs and general practice nurses in the next 10 years, experts have warned. The Health Foundation’s REAL Centre estimated the shortage of qualified, permanent GPs will substantially deteriorate over the next decade to 10,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) GPs in 2030/31. This compares with a shortage of…

The impact of persistent absence on the UK economy is substantial. It’s estimated that the cost of long-term sickness absence is over £4.17b and with such prevalence, it’s likely you will be faced with managing this at some point in your career, at least once. The process of managing persistent absence in your team may…