7.30am: Set off for work Today’s a long day as its my turn to cover the coronavirus centre this evening. There aren’t many bonuses of lockdown, but I am enjoying the reduction in traffic. A 1 hour journey has been cut to 30minutes…which obviously means an extra half hour in bed, which I definitely will need today. As I contemplate dressing I remember the order of the day is infection control. As a result a lot of us have decided to go rooting around to dust off our old scrubs (I swear this top fitted before – must have shrunk in the wardrobe!). As I throw them on bleary eyed I remember how much I enjoyed them – its like wearing pyjamas all day! 8am: Get to work and most importantly…coffee Looking around the practice a lot of things have changed since Covid 19 came into play. I have never seen the surgery so empty. The reception area has just a couple of staff at either end of the room answering phones and the waiting room is now as quiet as Jeremy Hunt’s leaving party at the junior doctors HQ. On the outside you would have thought this place was […]

Do you run your own medically related business or any other business? With the current lockdown, a lot of business are beginning to the feel the bite with most business activities (even online ones) grinding to a screeching halt. But did you that there are a range of packages the government has rolled out to support business ride through this trying times? Here what we think you need to know: 1. STATUTORY SICK PAY (SSP) RELIEF PACKAGE FOR SMEs The government has announced that it will pay up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19. If you employ people in your business and anyone is off sick or in isolation due to coronavirus, please ask them to get an isolation note from the NHS. This can be obtained online at https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note 2. BUSINESS RATES RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES A £25,000 grant will be provided to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from smaller premises, with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000. The government will also provide funding to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR). This will provide a one-off […]

For years patients and General Practitioners (GPs) have lamented the pressures of too many patients fighting over finite appointments with rising waiting times and possible missed opportunities for an individuals’ health needs to be met. Into this mess enter Babylon Health with their ‘GP at Hand’ mobile service application. Allowing patients to have appointments without leaving the comfort of their own home. Decreasing pressure on GP services and giving patients what they want, when they want it. So why are GPs so against what seems like a win-win situation? Who are Babylon Health? A health innovation company using mobile apps to allow patients to have access to a GP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These consultations occur over a video platform so patients do not have to attend in person. The app also has a ‘symptoms checker’ which can be used to help direct patients based upon the information they input into the app. It is important to state GPs are a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service and has been for many years but this point seems to be lost on the general public and one of the selling points of Babylon. How […]

Doctors from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are not given enough support by managers, which explains why they suffer from a disproportionately high referral rate to the General Medical Council (GMC). A study was recently conducted by Cranfield University and Middlesex University, commissioned by the GMC, which looked into the referral process to fitness to practise procedures. The Fair to Refer? report found BAME physicians are more than twice as likely to be referred as white doctors, resulting in them having a higher chance of being investigated, and subsequently, given a warning or sanction. The research, conducted by Dr Doyin Atewologun, reader in gender, inclusion and leadership at Cranfield University, together with Roger Kline, research fellow at Middlesex University Business School, discovered why more BAME doctors were called for referral than white colleagues. The most common reasons were the lack of induction or support in transitioning to new social, cultural and professional environments for BAME doctors. They were also not often given “effective, honest or timely feedback” on their practises, stemmed out of the fact that many managers from different ethnic groups try to avoid awkward conversations. It also found some doctors in isolated roles have a lack […]