Seeing undifferentiated patients in specialties such as general practice and emergency medicine is very challenging. To an outside observer, much of the work may seem routine or straightforward but this is only the case if the clinician is well-trained and highly experienced.

The cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon illustrates both the importance of the UK’s water supply for good public health and also its vulnerability to water-borne infections. Appropriate investment and safeguards are needed to ensure the quality and safety of our water supplies.

The future of NHS primary care should focus on integration not fragmentation

New Opinion piece by Professor Azeem Majeed Carol Chan & Rebecca Wright bmj.com/content/385/bm…

If you visit a dairy, you will quickly see why drinking raw (unpasteurised) milk is not a good idea. Raw milk is contaminated with faecal & other organic matter. Drinking raw milk can have significant health risks, including infections from salmonella, E. Coli and campylobacter.

London has the highest number of measles cases in England with low MMR vaccine uptake making the city particularly vulnerable. If you are an unimmunised young adult or the parent of an unimmunised child, the NHS is offering catch-up MMR vaccinations. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…

'Game-changer' weight loss jab study sparks stampede for prescriptions: Pharmacies reported a 400% surge in people seeking consultations after research found they could risk of major cardiac events by a fifth.
express.co.uk/life-style/hea…

One of the benefits of being a doctor is that we are part of a global medical community. This international network allows us to obtain support, advice and knowledge from medical colleagues across the world to help tackle the many clinical and health system challenges we face.

Excellent summary of why the current direction of travel by NHS England, the Fullerisation of general practice is plain wrong. Bad for patients, most importantly. Disastrous for the efficiency of the NHS. And ruinous for the training and development of the next generation of GPs.

The recent media coverage on semaglutide's impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes emphasises its potential as a treatment for CVD as well as for diabetes and obesity.

While the reported relative risk reduction is significant, it's crucial to consider the absolute risk

How should NHS primary care evolve?

Our latest piece in The BMJ explores why implementing same-day access hubs is not the answer to improving patient outcomes!

#PrimaryCare #NHS Professor Azeem Majeed

bmj.com/content/385/bm…

One of the changes we need in medicine in the UK is to make the GMC more responsive to doctors. In recent decades, the GMC has increasingly become an arm of the government and NHS England, and often ignores the views of the vast majority of doctors in setting its policies.

I’ve noticed how differently people collect awards at UK and US medical conferences. At UK conferences, the award winners look embarrassed and quickly shuffle off the stage. At the US conferences, it’s like they have won an Oscar with lots of emotion and a long thank you speech.

I’d like to remind NHS England that the contract between you and NHS Trusts is not one that GPs signed. It’s a contract that you and NHS Trusts signed. It’s up to NHS England to enforce the contract. Enforcing the contract is not the responsibility of GPs, LMCs or the BMA.

There are reports that 'Pharmacy First' is not working as well as NHS England hoped. This is unsurprising. Pharmacists have an important role in primary care but creating parallel medical services in pharmacies is not the solution to the challenges facing NHS general practices.

Addressing vaccination gaps among migrant populations - including adults - is crucial. Our latest study in BMC Medicine presents sobering stats & explores approaches to drive catch-up vaccination among adult & adolescent migrants in UK primary care. ➡️ doi.org/10.1186/s12916…

The UKHSA reports there were 2004 confirmed cases of malaria in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2023 compared to 1369 in 2022. If you are travelling to an area where malaria is endemic, ensure you use prophylactic drugs and seek medical attention if you develop symptoms.

Our new study in BMJ Open Respiratory examines the potential positive impacts of participating in patient support programmes on health outcomes in patients with severe asthma treated with biological therapies. bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/11/1/e…