VIDEO: Watch our co-chair, Sir Michael Dixon, summarising the achievements of The College of Medicine over the past 12 months in footage recorded at our annual general meeting…
Connecting Conversations: Professor Marcello Bertotti
The latest contributor to write for the Social Prescribing Network’s blog has made an important contribution to the development of social prescribing evidence in the UK.
Angela Rippon: How dance can be a vital social prescibing tool
The TV personality and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant has long understood the power of dance when it comes to enhancing both mental and physical health – and now she’s spreading the word in every way she can…
Dan Hopewell: Social Prescribing, Past, Present and Future
Director of Knowledge and Innovation at Bromley by Bow Health, Dan Hopewell reflects on how far social prescribing has come – and where we’re heading – on the latest Social Prescribing Network blog post…
Beyond the Clinic: Building Health through community in primary care
The latest article in the Connecting Conversations series from the Social Prescribing Network sees MP Dr Simon Opher as guest blogger. Simon is a member of the College of Medicine, and chairs the Beyond Pills All Parliamentary Party Group (APPG) and the Creative Health APPG,…
The True Prescription? Cormac Russell: ‘It’s time we unleashed the power of our neighbourhoods’
Cormac Russell is a globally recognized advocate for community-led development and citizen empowerment. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a faculty member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute at DePaul University in Chicago. Here, he writes about the power of community to transform lives in the Social Prescribing Network’s latest Guest Blog Series…
Broadening the conversation about health
As a former NHS GP and trainer with over three decades of experience, Dr Mark Chambers has witnessed both the strengths and limitations of conventional medicine. In this article for RAPPorT, the magazine for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Professionals, he explores…
Health related benefits for working people is £48 billion this year: So, are fit notes making the nation sicker?
The British Medical Journal has published an article by the College of Medicine’s Vice Chair Professor Sir Sam Everington and Aneez Esmail, Professor of General Practice at the University of Manchester, on how improving the UK’s fit note process could…
Can you think yourself better? Bodymind Faculty appears in Psychologies magazine article
An article in the latest edition of Psychologies magazine features our Bodymind Faculty, with lead Dr Simon Lewis discussing the impact of stress on our mental and physical well-being. Dr Lewis, who is a psychiatrist at University College London and…
Blog: Collecting people – a Queen’s Nurse reflects on social prescribing
Heather Henry is a writer, social entrepreneur and a Queen’s Nurse who founded the BreathChamps initiative to help children, families and communities affected by breathing problems. Her book, Social Prescribing Paradigms, Perspectives and Practice, is published on November 14th –…
Introducing the Bodymind Faculty at The College of Medicine
Welcome to the Bodymind Faculty (BMF), we are pleased you are here! Below, our Bodymind Faculty Lead, Simon Lewis, explains exactly what our ambitions are for our newest College of Medicine faculty… What is the Bodymind Faculty (BMF)?We think that…
Discussion Paper: Future Direction for the NHS – Reconnect, Revise, Restore
Dr Michael Dixon and Dr Sam Everington, Chair and Vice Chair respectively of The College of Medicine, have authored a new discussion paper on how to fix and future protect our healthcare system… Image: Pixabay/Geralt What are the problems that…
Dr Michael Dixon’s letter to The Times: ‘Toxic NHS is disconnected from patient, staff and community needs’
Ahead of the IPM Congress 2024, the College of Medicine’s Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, has written a letter to The Times newspaper addressing the GP retention crisis the country’s healthcare system is currently facing. In the correspondence, Dr Dixon says…
BEYOND PILLS CAMPAIGN: Coming off dependence-forming drugs for mental health problems can ‘up end’ your life, say psychiatrist and pharmacist who have authored new guidelines for safe deprescribing
The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines by Dr Mark Horowitz and Professor David Taylor is the first clinical handbook on how to safely stop medications, reports Sarah Stacey… Until very recently, medical guidelines and textbooks have been influenced by short-term studies carried…
The College of Medicine publishes new report calling for more school nurses
The College of Medicine has joined key voices in healthcare including nursing leads, charities and the Government in calling for more schools to have a dedicated nurse. The College contributed to a report published this week which documents the sharp…
New book examines relationship between healing and medicine
The College of Medicine’s Chair Dr Michael Dixon has praised a new book that examines in depth the relationship between healing and medicine. A Doctor’s Journey Toward Their Integration is by Bristol-based Professor Paul Dieppe, an academic physician who changed…
‘Unless you change your habits, you’re not solving the issues’: Weight-loss drugs to beat diabetes is a quick fix – but not a long-term solution
In the first of a two-part series examining the growing trend for using weight-loss drugs to tackle diabetes Type 2, Sarah Stacey reports on the serious potential risks for patients – and a safe, long-term alternative… The slew of hopeful…
Dr Michael Dixon, our chair, says paper written on Integrated approach to health by King Charles III in 2012 was ‘ahead of its time’
The College of Medicine’s Chair, Dr Michael Dixon, has praised a paper written by our patron, King Charles III, in 2012 on Integrated Health as ‘forward thinking’ and has invited our members to re-read it. The paper, entitled ‘Integrated health…
‘Getting research money for plant medicine is extremely difficult’: Simon Mills in conversation with herbalist Michael McIntyre
The College of Medicine’s Self Care Lead, Simon Mills, first encountered herbalist and acupuncturist Michael McIntyre around 45 years ago as the pair met as practitioners trying to drive forward plant medicine in the UK. In 2022, the College of…
‘For 50 years, we haven’t used a single kilo of pesticide’: Patrick Holden responds to Times article on the future for sustainable farming
An article, Farming today means thinking of tomorrow, by journalist Alice Thomson published in The Times newspaper this month examined future farming methods, discussing the ongoing conflict between those who produce food and environmental campaigners. Here, Patrick Holden, CEO of…
Beyond Pills Campaign: Dr William Bird on the impact Green Social Prescribing can have
Reading GP Dr William Bird, the College of Medicine’s Nature Lead and a pioneer of Green Social Prescribing, talks to Sarah Stacey about the healing power of nature for every age group… Think of the shapes, colours and sounds of…
Blog: How arts and creativity can help young people deal with difficult transitions
This week, Professor Chris Drinkwater, Executive Lead for Arts and Creativity at the North East & North Cumbria Child Health and Wellbeing Network, wrote a blog for theatre company Damn Cheek on the benefits of drama for helping children to cope…
Professor Sir Sam Everington urges Government to ‘put nurses in schools’, in RSA article
The College of Medicine’s Deputy Chair, Professor Sir Sam Everington, has called for every school to have access to a qualified nurse, in a passionate article for the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) magazine. Sir Sam, who is a GP…
EXCLUSIVE: NHS Prescribing Director Professor Tony Avery on why unnecessary prescribing must stop – for the sake of both patients and our healthcare system
To mark Social Prescribing Day 2023, Professor Tony Avery OBE, GP and National Clinical Director for Prescribing at NHS England, writes for The College of Medicine on the system approaches needed to optimise medicines to better care for people living…
Herbs that heal: Watch Simon Mills’ discussion with Dr Rupy Ajula on The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast
A podcast discussing how herbs can help health, released in November on Dr Rupy Ajula’s The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast, and featuring herbal practitioner Simon Mills, who is The College of Medicine’s Self Care Lead, has now had more than 80,000…