GP Appraisal redesign

NHS England is working to “redesign the current process” of GP Appraisals. The reason for this, is to achieve a more “flexible approach” in light of the pandemic. In March, routine CQC inspections were stopped in order to reduce the strain on GPs and GP practices.

Medical Student creates clinical handbook

Second year medical student, Malone Mukwende, has created a clinical handbook that looks at how medical conditions present differently on black or brown skin. Malone identified a need for this book to be created when he witnessed how textbook would frequently only refer to how symptoms would appear on white skin.

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Encouraging patients back to the surgery

GPs are urging patients to seek medical help and assistance if they feel they need it. There is a fear that people who need urgent care could slip through the net.

During the pandemic, routine face to face appointments were halted and replaced with telephone triage and video consultations. GP surgeries saw a reduction in the number of patients seeking out their services, which has led to the concern that people may not be receiving the treatment they need for their conditions.

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Second Wave

Scientists are predicting that there is a chance of a second, much worse, spike in coronavirus deaths this winter. What are we able to do now to prepare for this?

The pandemic has already caused a backlog for GPs and the NHS as a whole, so calls have been made, for funding and plans to be put in place in order to reduce the impact of the possible second wave.

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A New way of working

A survey by the Consumer Intelligence for health insurance, has found that 61% of the British public would either prefer to continue with remote appointments, or to still have this option after lockdown.

To read the review in full, click here

Government funding

The government has promised £3bn spending boost to get the NHS “battle ready for winter”

The funds are said to be available “immediately”. This follows scientific advice that we could be hit by a worse second wave if the NHS is not adequately prepared.

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