Up to four million people will be seeking to book COVID bivalent booster injections this week, it has been announced. Thousands of practices are involved in the last COVID vaccination drive, launched after new vaccines were approved able to tackle the original COVID virus and this year’s omicron strain. The Government says it hopes to…

Practices should shut their doors for a few minutes next Friday and take time to focus on their own staff wellbeing, according to professional leaders. The move has been made after the tragic death of GP Dr Gail Milligan and growing evidence of the stresses on practice teams. Saturday 10 September is World Suicide Prevention…

Practices in England delivered significantly more appointments last month than in the summer before the pandemic, according to new data. Some 26 million appointments took place in July – representing almost one appointment for every two people in England. The number was 5.5% greater than in July 2019 and the Royal College of GPs said…

The loss of dozens of local surgeries is increasing health inequalities in the UK, senior GPs claimed today. An investigation published today suggests that 474 premises have closed since 2013 and that centralising GP services has reduced access for many people. The Pulse investigation found that closures most often occurred in deprived areas – and…

After the changes to flu funding last year, with achievement payments moving from QOF to the IIF, you might be forgiven for thinking that this year it should be straightforward and follow the same pattern. You’d be wrong! If you’re part of a PCN, or indeed, even if you’re not, the Influenza Enhanced Service this…

Referring patients to Saturday morning “park runs” has proved very successful, according to an analysis published today. The findings came after the British government announced support for social prescribing of cycling and walking in 11 council areas. The British Journal of General Practice carries analysis of a survey of 45,622 parkrunners, which shows how the…

Patients at GP surgeries are less likely to be happy with service provision if there are more non-medical staff in clinical roles, according to a new analysis. A study by University of Manchester researchers explored the impact on delivery and patients’ experience of healthcare with the introduction of new roles including social prescribers, clinical pharmacists,…