My stomach lurched last weekend as I prepared myself for ‘getting back to work’. Although I’d actually only had one day off over the holidays, there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach as if I’d chewed up a disposable mask and it was sitting there, churning. In a lame attempt to better…

How do we sum up 2020? Do we really want to look back over the year? Well, January and February started out as per normal with the usual practice management pressures – PCN, annual leave, salaries, and no mention of pandemics or face coverings. In fact, it’s interesting to note that the first Practice Index…

The government must use the expanding vaccination programme to give full priority to health staff, doctors’ leaders have said. Vaccination of staff has continued to be “ad hoc and often chaotic,” the British Medical Association said. It said that some practices have vaccinated a “reasonable” number of staff while others have done none at all.…

Practices are to begin administering the homegrown Oxford COVID-19 vaccine today amid concern about the ability of the NHS to meet the logistical challenge of getting doses to the frontline on time. The announcement followed successful hospital trials of the vaccine – as GP leaders warned that practices were facing erratic deliveries, leading to clinics…

Some practices could refuse to delay booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, it has been revealed. The government yesterday said second doses should be delayed for up to 12 weeks to maximise the number of people getting first doses. It triggered a backlash among medical organisations and GPs, dismayed that many patients already have appointments…

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,…

The NHS bowed to growing medical anger yesterday and promised vaccination for frontline staff following the approval of a second COVID-19 vaccine. News of the second vaccine led to practices stepping up preparations for mass programmes – as the UK developed vaccine can be refrigerated at normal temperatures. A letter from NHS England admitted that…