Davy Jones has been teaching yoga for 12 years and practising for 20. He is chair of the Brighton Yoga Foundation and, here, explains how the organisation is helping to reach out to diverse areas of the community: Yoga is…
Healthcare professionals should be lobbying against climate change: the population’s health depends on it
Dr James Szymankiewicz is a GP working in North Devon. He is currently Vice Chair of the GP Collaborative Board representing the 22 North Devon practices. He’s also the current Chair of Devon Local Nature Partnership which focuses on enhancing Devon’s natural environment. Here,…
Case study: How an impromptu acupuncture session helped prevent a hospital referral
Jens Foell is a peripatetic GP who uses acupuncture within his practice when appropriate. Here, he explains how he turned to his needle kit to treat an elderley patient presenting with acute myofascial pain… Bian Que is a prominent figure in…
Student doctors need social prescribing in their toolkit: the nation’s future health depends on it
Bogdan Chiva Giurca, Chair of the National Social Prescribing Student Champion Scheme, offers insight how the current generation of trainee doctors are being taught social prescribing… Developing a national consensus for teaching social prescribing within UK medical schools, the Social…
How to best support a patient? Start actually listening to them!
Damien Ridge, Professor of Health Studies and Head of Psychology at the University of Westminster, writes on how healthcare professionals need to look more closely at patient evidence… “In thinking about the College of Medicine’s mission to empower patients, I…
When the side-effects of medicine outweigh the benefits: How over-prescribing is making us sick
South London GP James Le Fanu published his book, Too Many Pills: How Too Much Medicine is Endangering Our Health and What We Can Do About It, earlier this year. A regular writer on medicine and science for the Sunday…
How to fix public health? A new breed of GP is needed…
College of Medicine founder, senior GP and NHS England social prescribing champion, Dr Michael Dixon, told gponline.com this week that public health needs to be ‘built around general practice’, with an increased role for volunteers. Here, Dr Luke Allen, GP Academic Clinical…
The NHS has a duty of care to prevent doctor burn-out – for the well-being of staff AND patients
Professor David Peters, Clinical Director in the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, warns the NHS urgently needs a Charter of Compassionate Practice to prevent staff demoralised by excessive workloads from leaving the healthcare system… The NHS…
How everyday foods could help fight depression and dementia
Health Guide, herbal practitioner and Pukka strategist Simon Mills on how everyday plants including cocoa and turmeric could help health problems associated with inflammation… Ground-breaking new research suggests that inflammation could be a key contributor to depression, dementia and other pressing…
How a theatre director changed the way I interact with my patients
London-based GP, acupuncturist and Lu Jong yoga teacher Deniah Pachai explains how a book on communication by British voice coach and director Patsy Rodenburg OBE has changed the way she communicates… I could never have imagined that an author who writes…
Should doctors recommend acupuncture for pain?
Mike Cummings, College of Medicine Lead for Acupuncture within Medicine and Medical Director of the British Medical Acupuncture Society, expresses his views on whether doctors should prescribe acupuncture… The evolution of this debate[1], should doctors recommend acupuncture for pain?, has…
The mouth reflects whole body health – but what does integrated care mean for dentists?
Professor Sonia Williams holds the Emeritus Chair in Oral Health Services Research at the University of Leeds and was awarded the MBE for her work in child and ethnic minorities dental health. Here, Professor Williams explores how integrated oral health…
How health inequality in Crawley has been transformed and the town now boasts the UK’s lowest emergency admission rates
GP Dr Amit Bhargava explains why the north-west Sussex town of Crawley has one of the lowest rates of emergency admissions in the country – and has been recognised as the most dementia-friendly community in the UK. The town, close…
How increased education on Integrative Medicine is changing the way GPs help patients
Dr Elizabeth Thompson, Academic Director for the Diploma for Integrative Medicine, which launched in Bristol in 2017, explains how the course is helping students develop a critical and enquiring approach to a variety of therapeutic interventions: The Diploma Development Team…
Social exclusion kills: Society’s healthcare systems can and must help
Medical Director for the charity Pathway, Dr Nigel Hewett OBE has been instrumental in recognising the need for healthcare systems to practise ‘Inclusion Health’. Here, Dr Hewett explains why medical professionals must work together to bring down the high mortality rates experienced by…
Israel’s life expectancy rates match East London’s but the UK spends double the amount on healthcare
GP Sir Sam Everington OBE, Chairman of Tower Hamlets CCG, examines whether the UK’s life expectancy rates could be dramatically improved by focusing on social determinants and a better use of technology: In the East End of London the difference in life…
Dr Michael Dixon on Radio 4’s Today programme: “We need to find the right fit for patients, not just reach for a pill”
Dr Michael Dixon appeared on the Today programme on Radio 4 on 5th January 2018…below is a transcript of the comments Dr Dixon made in discussion with presenter John Humphrys: ON MOVING AWAY FROM PRESCRIBING TABLETS “Too often we reach…
Student doctors need to push for better education on social prescribing
Bogdan Chiva Giurca, Social Prescribing Student Lead and a medical student at Exeter Medical School, believes the new generation of medics must engage now with social prescribing to help build a more sustainable future for the NHS… The importance of…
How a social prescribing pilot in North Staffordshire is transforming GP services
Dr Ruth Chambers, OBE, highlights how a pilot scheme is helping patients with social, emotional and practical needs across North Staffordshire… The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Hub social prescribing project was launched as a six-month pilot in February 2015…
Nurses are vital to progressive, integrated healthcare – because they have the trust of patients
Nurses earn the confidence of their patients and are often best placed to advise them on alternative care, writes Professor Dame Donna Kinnair: Nurses and midwives are in a unique position to ensure that every patient is able to access holistic…
Everyone has a responsibility to nurture today’s children: a sustainable future depends upon it
There needs to be a fundamental change in the way society cares for children if we are to fully unleash their potential, writes Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green, currently visiting Professor in Advocacy for Children and Childhood Nottingham Trent University… Children…
Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green
Sir Al Aynsely-Green trained at Guy’s Hospital, London, hospitals in Oxford, and in paediatric endocrinology at the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. He became University Lecturer and Fellow of Green College, Oxford, and James Spence Professor of Child Health in…
Grilling patients on sexuality is the NHS playing Big Brother – and it’ll only drive GPs away
Putting principles before the health of patients is a dangerous game, writes Dr Michael Dixon, and sends out yet another warning flag to GPs that medical autonomy is under threat… I took my 97-year-old mother out to lunch last Sunday and…
Complementary medicine’s true potential cannot be unlocked without robust evidence for its use
Professor Debbie Sharp questions what needs to happen nationally to develop a proper evidence base for effective complementary therapies… The fashion for delivering complementary therapies on the NHS has waxed and waned over many years, since well before the fashion…
Commissioning cost-saving complementary medicine is the future for integrated health
Retired barrister Richard Eaton blogs on why both complementary and conventional medical practitioners – and their patients – should be lobbying the Government on the increased use of complementary medicine in mainstream care… In October 2005, further to its commission…
