A town-wide project that’s helping to teach young people how to cook healthy food on a budget – with minimum waste – is featured in a new YouTube film. And the stars of it are hoping to reach a million…
“Music often works when words don’t – and we should shout about how crucial it can be to wellbeing”
Dr Simon Procter is Director of Music Services for music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins. Here, he explains the social value of music… For many people who face health problems or social exclusion, music can be a crucial means of self-expression,…
Low-cost, easy-to-learn and health enhancing: 5 reasons yoga is fantastic for self care
Public health doctor and yoga teacher Dr. Sakthidharan Paramasivam Karunanithi on why the ancient art of yoga is more relevant than ever in the modern world… Self care has become so important these days. Many modern illnesses can be prevented…
“We must find a more sustainable way to farm food”: HRH The Prince of Wales speaks at the ‘Food on Prescription’ conference
HRH The Prince of Wales has urged the UK’s ‘best brains’ to try and find a more sustainable approach to farming that doesn’t deplete vital soil nutrients. Speaking in a pre-recorded film at the College of Medicine’s third food and…
VIDEO: “Food can help prevent illness and be part of treating disease”
This month brings the College of Medicine’s third annual Food conference, this year entitled ‘Food on Prescription‘, to the Royal Society of Medicine on October 24th. The one-day conference has become a ‘must attend’ for healthcare professionals who want to…
First rule of complementary therapy? Recognise ‘red flags’ that indicate a serious medical problem
The College of Medicine’s Dr Toh Wong, a GP trainer, discusses how complementary therapists must feel confident in reporting potentially serious conditions to doctors when necessary… What do red flags have to do with complementary therapy? One of the biggest…
Doctors and complementary therapists need to work together for better patient outcomes
GP Trainer Dr Toh Wong shares how his London conference has proved an important building block in helping complementary therapists and doctors work in a more cohesive way to improve patient care… The last three years has seen a torrent…
Dr Zoe Harcombe: ‘Why the Eat-Lancet plant-based diet is nutritionally deficient’
The EAT-Lancet Commission released details of the controversial Eat-Lancet diet in January. Here, ahead of the College of Medicine’s Food On Prescription Conference in October 2019, author and researcher Dr Zoe Harcombe, who specialises in examining public health dietary guidelines,…
Patrick Holden: ‘We’re paying for cheap food with our health and our planet’
In this interview originally published by Borough Market, Ellie Costigan asks Patrick Holden why our food system needs to change to prevent irreversible climate change and a biodiversity catastrophe… Patrick Holden is the founder of the Sustainable Food Trust, a charitable…
“We need evidence to prove social prescribing works”, says former children’s tsar
Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green was the first Children’s Commissioner for England and is a former president of the British Medical Association. An influential figure on children’s health and development for more than 40 years, here, Aynsley-Green debates the role social…
Taxing cigarettes has worked: is it now time to do the same with bad food?
Simon Tuckey has spent much of his career in the food industry in the UK and overseas. Here, he debates the idea that obesity has become so costly to the NHS it’s time to use financial mechanisms to reduce food…
How to make GPs stay? Work to reduce lifestyle-related illnesses putting such strain on the NHS
Heather Richards, Director of Nutrition at the Sano School of Culinary Medicine, writes on how GPs need to be better equipped on nutrition if the burden on the healthcare system is to be reduced… Nutrition knowledge for healthcare professionals and involvement…
‘People come to a yoga class feeling anxious – when they leave they’re able to cope better with life’s pressures’
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…
