The COVID-19 pandemic has meant it’s more important than ever to stay in touch with your patients. Regular communication keeps them informed of new practice processes and how these are supporting their health and well-being. But with many communication methods to choose from, how do you know which one will work best? What types of…

There has probably never been a more critical time to promote cervical screening to your eligible patient base as this week marks the annual Cervical Screening Awareness Week. In the UK, 5 million women are invited for screening every year, but inevitably, with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, tests have been postponed and cancelled.…

Given that GP practices have changed how they operate significantly to deal with the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might expect a few patients to balk at some of the changes but also appreciate the extra effort being made to continue providing care. The reality, however, is that numbers of complaints being made against…

Remember Phil’s ‘Kung Flu Fighting’ blog two flu seasons ago? If only we knew then what we know now, maybe we’d have stockpiled even more toilet rolls as we fast approach meltdown in this new pandemic. This time it’s a cousin of Olly MERS, or is it Olly SARS, that’s causing the global stock markets…

With the increasing concern about COVID-19, what should practices be doing to protect themselves against coronavirus? Telephone triage has been suggested as one possible way to minimise potential contact with COVID-19, but will it really work? For practices that don’t currently operate a telephone-triage system, one thing to bear in mind is the level of…

Are we ALL getting a little more intolerant? Or is it just those of us over-50s who are going through certain hormonal changes – menopause starts with the prefix ‘MEN’ for a reason you know! We’ve had more patients who are irritated with the service than ever before and I can’t see that improving to…

  Technology is specifically designed to help make life easier. This applies to healthcare as much as any area of life, but is the new NHS App – rolled out across the country last year – a good example of such technology and a good use of NHS resources? The NHS App, which is slowly…