The College of Medicine’s Sir Sam Everington has penned an open letter, published in the Health Service Journal, to the new NHS England chair Richard Meddings on the future of the NHS and how the healthcare system can be improved. You…
Dr Michael Dixon tells the Westminster Health Forum that GPs need to re-build patient relationships that were lost to the pandemic
Dr Michael Dixon, Chair of The College of Medicine and Co-Chair of the National Social Prescribing Network, delivered the following speech in his opening address at the Westminster Health Forum on March 9th 2022… ‘General practice is on the edge…
Dr Toh Wong, co-organiser of February’s Integrative Health Convention, on how a life-changing illness changed his approach to health
Dr Toh Wong, a GP living and working in Devon, tells the College of Medicine how a Bell’s Palsy diagnosis – and a course in neurolinguistic programming – made him realise that health and healing requires an Integrative Health approach. On February…
“How much does evidence matter when driving health policy?”
Speaking at the European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) in November 2021, our Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, debated how much evidence should drive health policy in modern healthcare. Here, Dr Dixon expands on that debate… “I am sure that everyone…
‘We’re on the verge of breaking the glass ceiling on conventional medical thinking…’ Dr Michael Dixon tells European Congress for Integrative Medicine
Dr Michael Dixon, the College of Medicine’s Chair, addressed the European Congress for Integrative Medicine (ECIM) on November 4th 2021, telling those attending that the conference marked ‘a new dawn for integrative medicine and the beginning of a new age…
A lockdown success! How a team of healthcare professionals is transforming mental health support in their region
Two GPs who helped to create a mental health referral team during the height of the first lock-down have shared with the College of Medicine the challenges and successes of its first year in operation. The Andover Primary Care Mental…
“There’s no pressure to produce anything” Art counsellors reveal how simply doodling can boost mental health and well-being
Nour Saleh says she first realised the positive influence of art as a child, noticing ‘the power of it to gather people and unite them’ and how drawing or doodling ‘appeased’ her own emotions, offering moments of calm. Nour, a…
How Complementary and Conventional Medicine can work together
People are still not benefiting from Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is ways that they could, write Dr Naveed Akhtar and Dr Toh Wong in the College of Medicine’s manifesto Hope for the Future. “Many more people could be reaping…
How to avoid NHS staff burn-out
During Mental Health Awareness Week, the College of Medicine is highlighting the subject of NHS burn-out. In Chapter 13 of our 2021 manifesto, Hope for the Future, Professor David Peters addresses the issue of how doctors and nurses working in…
Our Health Directory: Find self care and social prescription resources
Our Health Directory was created in 2019 by the College of Medicine to offer a reliable, evidence-based user-friendly online guide to help a range of conditions and symptoms – including back pain, depression and IBS. It’s designed to help empower…
Listen, support, connect: How we marked International Social Prescribing Day 2021
A vital event in the College of Medicine’s annual calendar, Social Prescribing Day, which took place this year on March 18th, aims to celebrate the social prescribing movement by highlighting stories of progress, the importance of community and, this year,…
The healing power of art during the global pandemic
In this collaboration between the College of Medicine and the Barakat Art Gallery, Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca explores the power of the arts to help mental health and well-being during the Covid pandemic… If you are experiencing stress, you are…
College of Medicine Council Members call for ‘Territorial Army’ of health workers to help avert future crises
Three leading College of Medicine Council Members have urged the Government to consider creating a ‘Territorial Army’ of health professionals – trained in crisis management – in case another pandemic or similar healthcare disaster strikes the NHS in the future.…
Dr Michael Dixon: ‘Let’s look to social prescribing to tackle loneliness’
College of Medicine Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, this week spoke at the Westminster Insight conference on Tackling Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older People. Here is the abridged address he gave on how social prescribing can help to transform the…
Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green: Covid-19 has had a damaging effect on children – but there is an opportunity to ‘re-set’
Children may be more resistant to Covid-19 but the pandemic has still had a disproportionate effect on their lives, says Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green, a member of the College of Medicine’s Scientific Advisory Council and former UK Children’s Commissioner. Writing…
Freddy Jacquin interview: “Most people are willing to give hypnosis a go… so why won’t the NHS prescribe it?”
Since lockdown began back in late March, hypnotist Freddy Jacquin has been offering Freddy’s Free Friday Therapy, offering College of Medicine followers and the general public the chance to log on to a live session (now on the last Friday…
‘We have achieved so much but there is so much yet to do…’ Dr Michael Dixon addresses Westminster Health Forum social prescribing Conference
The College of Medicine’s Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, made a keynote address at the Westminster Health Forum Conference on September 17th…here, we share his address in full… ‘I am most grateful to the Westminster Health Forum for organising this third…
Video: Sir Sam Everington on obesity in young people: ‘Schools are becoming incubators for long-term health problems…’
A leading voice in social prescribing has called obesity levels among young people ‘shocking’, saying more needs to be done to address future health and prevent the rise of long-term conditions including cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The government announced…
VIDEO: The Food Teacher on food poverty during lock-down and how to engage children with healthy eating
Katherine Tate, aka The Food Teacher, has a head start when it comes to getting 30 youngsters to engage with healthy eating. Tate is a qualified primary school teacher, who retrained in 2014 as a nutritional therapist, ensuring she knows…
VIDEO: ‘We’re like a Duke of Edinburgh for the over 55s’: The Challenge Hub helps new retirees adjust to the post-work life change
Retirement remains one of the biggest life transitions we face, where one can go from a fast-paced career to a much quieter existence in a matter of days. And while many employers are very happy to throw a farewell party…
‘Social prescribing is as old as the hills…’ Dr Michael Dixon gives a potted history of integrated medicine
It may now be national policy and championed by both the NHS and the Government… but social prescribing still isn’t on the radar of many practitioners, both in the UK and globally. Here, College of Medicine Chair, Dr Michael Dixon,…
View from the front line: Hospital doctors share their experiences of working on COVID-19 wards
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust doctors – both just qualified and experienced – into extraordinary circumstances. In this article, we speak to two hospital doctors currently working in hospitals in the UK about what it’s been like to treat patients…
Listening in troubled times: Coping with the universal grief of COVID-19
Anne Pitman, director of the School of Embodied Yoga Therapy in Ottawa and a yogatherapist at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Center explores the sense of grief that we’re all experiencing during the pandemic and how to deal with it… In…
Boosting immunity against coronavirus: ‘Now’s the time to turn to antioxidants and polyphenols’
The College of Medicine Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, has been speaking about how we can boost our immune system by eating well while in isolation in the coming weeks. Advising that food and nutrition can play a crucial role in…
Ruby Wax: “We’re allowed to exercise our bodies but what to do with our minds? As always, there’s no instruction manual”
Mental health campaigner Ruby Wax has been discussing the impact that continued isolation, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, will have on our minds. In a live video for new health streaming service HealthFlix, the entertainer and comedian joined Jamie…
