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Senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by reporter Harry Hetherington to discuss the findings of Pulse's survey which exclusively revealed that an estimated quarter of patient referrals are now returned as unsolicited advice and guidance (A&G) to general practice. This comes despite NHS England denying the existence of a 25% target for GP referrals to be ‘diverted’ back to GPs as A&G. Harry explains how this has impacted patient safety and the extra workload it is creating for GPs. The pair also consider how this could affect the rollout of the consultant-led 'single point of access' triage - due to begin from 1 October. Following a flurry of news stories in the past few months about PSA testing and prostate cancer, this episode's clinical segment sees GP and Pulse editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft look at the Government's updated guidance on when GPs should offer PSA testing. Dr Hopcroft speaks with Dr Samuel Merriel - GP and clinical senior lecturer who has sat on expert advisory groups relating to prostate cancer for NICE and NHS England - to clarify the National Screening Committee's (NSC) recommendations; whether GPs should be proactively looking to offer PSAs to patients; and more. Dr Merriel also shares some insight from the TRANSFORM trial, on which he is a co-investigator, which is researching the best ways to detect prostate cancer earlier. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

This month, senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by deputy news editor Anna Colivicchi and reporter Harry Hetherington. The team takes stock of the change in Government over the past month and considers what this will mean for general practice. Drawing from his investigation into local enhanced services, Harry asks how Andy Burnham’s history as health secretary and mayor who oversaw health devolution in Manchester may impact the rollout of neighbourhoods. GP and editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft returns for our clinical segment, in which he goes through a new review which shows that patients with hypertension may be having more blood tests than they need. Dr Hopcroft explains which tests were and weren’t deemed necessary by researchers, and why the outcome will benefit both GPs and patients. And finally, Harry returns to the studio to talk about his interview with newly-elected chair of the BMA’s sessional GP committee Dr Lucy-Jane Davis. She shares how it took her three years to find a substantive GP post amid the under and unemployment crisis; the importance of not undervaluing locums; and how she hopes to use her term to address the gender pay gap and support neurodivergent GPs. This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews. Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Editor Sofia Lind is joined by deputy news editor Anna Colivicchi to discuss Anna’s Big Interview with the new chair of the BMA’s GP Committee in England, Dr Clare Bannon. The pair reflect on Dr Bannon’s plan for her term in power, including future collective action, the importance of the partnership model to the healthcare system, and how preparing for a ‘plan B’ could give GPs other options in the scenario that the NHS fails. Anna the speaks with senior journalist Maya Dhillon about her trip to Wales for Pulse LIVE Cardiff, where she also interviewed GPC Wales chair Dr Gareth Oelmann. As the Welsh Government goes through a transition period, Dr Oelmann discusses the need for an increase in funding to general practice; the need more GPs; and explains why contract negotiations have been delayed. And for our clinical section, GP and editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft runs through one of our most popular stories from June: the development of a risk calculator that estimates a person’s risk of developing serious muscle disorders from taking statins. Study lead Dr Ting Cai, research fellow in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford joins him to answer his questions about the future of this tool being used in consultations, as well as how it may affect management and monitoring of patients. Continue your learning by registering for our upcoming Pulse Virtual Events. These events are designed for GPs and primary care professionals seeking practical, CPD-accredited clinical updates and expert-led insights they can apply straight into everyday consultations. The next session, taking place in August, focuses on vaccinations and immunology. We’ll also be travelling to Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool this year, delivering our Pulse LIVE Events. Book your free place today. This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon. Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by Pulse editor-in-chief Jaimie Kaffash to discuss his new report on the complaints system in general practice and his interview with chair of the BMA’s GP committee in England Dr Katie Bramall at Pulse LIVE Birmingham. Jaimie shares his white paper findings on how the fear of complaints is causing just under 80% of GPs to practise medicine ‘defensively’ as well as how patients are using AI when making complaints. Jaimie also tells Maya about his Big Interview with Dr Bramall at Pulse LIVE Birmingham. The GPC chair revealed her fear that wholesale GMS negotiations may be off the table following Wes Streeting’s health secretary resignation, and explains her strategy for ongoing collective action against the Government. Last but not least, clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by Professor Tom Barber, consultant endocrinologist and professor of endocrinology at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, to revisit his session from Pulse LIVE Birmingham on managing metabolic syndrome in general practice. Professor Barber explains what exactly metabolic syndrome is, advises GPs on they should identify patients at risk (using a measuring tape rather than scales), and how to manage the condition. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

In this episode, the Pulse team discusses the BMA’s decision to ballot GPs in England on a ‘plan B’ or an alternative model of general practice. Pulse senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by deputy news editor Anna Colivicchi and editor-in-chief Jaimie Kaffash to look at where this has come from, what it shows about the profession's mood and how likely an exit from the NHS actually is. The group reflect on what 'doing a dentist' could actually look like, as well as talking to Dr Maitiú O’Faoláin - vice chair of the GP committee of the Irish Medical Organisation - about what GPs here could learn about the Republic of Ireland's mixed private and state-funded model of general practice. Editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by Professor Celia Gregson, professor of clinical epidemiology and chair of the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group, to discuss new research on the use of vitamin D and calcium supplements for fracture prevention. Reporter Harry Hetherington stops by to talk about his investigation into local enhanced services across England. He explains the threefold 'LES Lottery' he uncovered through data, explaining the variation for services across ICBs and why GPs continue to carry out underfunded LESs. And we round off the episode with a quickfire clinical round-up with the biggest stories this month: the final recommendations for prostate cancer screening in the general population; a name change for polycystic ovary syndrome; and uptake in combined asthma inhalers since NICE update. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

In this month's episode, the team reports exclusively from Pulse LIVE London. Pulse's editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft takes us through his favourite clinical sessions, and Pulse editor Sofia Lind gives us the highlights from her Big Interview with Baroness Clare Gerada. Dr Hopcroft interviews Dr Stephanie Kayode, consultant allergist at the department of adult allergy at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She explores how GPs can identify patients who are falsely labelled as having a penicillin allergy, and how GPs should go about attempting to de-label them. He then speaks to GP, locum consultant in pain and musculoskeletal medicine and NHS Northwest London musculoskeletal and diagnostics clinical lead Dr Imran Sajid, about how GPs can assess and manage back pain with or without sciatica or radiculopathy in primary care - including when it could indicate bone cancer. Lastly, Sofia and Baroness Gerada discuss the failed assisted dying bill and how it may return, what GPs can do to get policy makers to sit up and listen, and how general practice can learn to work with AI. Continue your learning by registering for our upcoming Pulse Virtual Events. These events are designed for GPs and primary care professionals seeking practical, CPD-accredited clinical updates and expert-led insights they can apply straight into everyday consultations. Taking place in May, we’ll be focusing on Chronic Conditions, Dermatology and Diabetes, and in June, Women’s Health, Urology and Dermatology. We’ll also be travelling to Birmingham, Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool this year, delivering our Pulse LIVE Events. Book your free place today. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

The new episode of Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is now live and available on all podcast platforms. In this month’s episode, our team unpicks the new guidance from NICE, recommending use of weight loss drug semaglutide (Wegovy) to prevent further heart attack and stroke. Pulse editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by Professor Ahmet Fuat, honorary professor of primary care cardiology at Durham University and GP with extended role in cardiorenal medicine. The pair discuss the evidence base behind the recommendation, what the rollout might look like, who is eligible, who will be responsible for managing care including lifestyle support, and how it fits in with existing NICE guidance on treating patients with type 2 diabetes. Professor Fuat also considers whether semaglutide has the potential to go to be used for primary prevention in future. We round up our episode with editor Sofia Lind discussing where general practice stands following a referendum on the 2026/27 GP contract, in which 98.9% rejected the Government’s imposed changes. She tells senior journalist Maya Dhillon about ‘the difficult position’ she believes the GPC is in, as it has threatened collective action by 30 April (unless the Government pauses its implementation of ‘mandatory’ A&G) while the Government has said this may mean missing out on a primary negotiation role in new GMS contract discussions. For more information about how to attend the Community Pharmacy and General Practice Conference, click here.  Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by Anna Colivicchi, deputy news editor, and Dr Keith Hopcroft, GP and editorial adviser, to analyse and explain the changes introduced by the 2026/27 GP contract. The trio go through all the major headlines - including new same-day requirements around ‘clinically urgent patients', a shift in funding for a new practice-level recruitment scheme, and mandated collaboration between practices and ICBs. Anna and Keith discuss the absorption of advice and guidance (A&G) from an enhanced service into the core contract, contemplating how this 'blurs' the line between GP and specialist remit; and how this will work in practice. The discussion comes as NHS England's national director for primary care Dr Amanda Doyle wrote exclusively for Pulse last week, explaining their rationale for the move. Keith also provides a handy overview of the changes to QOF, including the addition of two new obesity indicators and the provision of 'improvement incentives' for childhood vaccination rates. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

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In our first 'Big Interview' of the year, Pulse editor Sofia Lind speaks to the new chair of the RCGP, Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, to discuss the role of the college in a particularly tumultuous time for the profession. The pair discuss the RCGP's position and approach to new-look GP contract consultations - in which the college is now involved alongside other stakeholders, as revealed exclusively by Pulse last year. Professor Tzortziou Brown reflects on how the contract needs to change; relations with the BMA; as well as advising the Government on its new workforce strategy - with a focus on retaining experienced GPs. She also shares her thoughts on how GPs need to be kept at the centre of the implementation of neighbourhood services as the 10-year plan is rolled out, as well as how access and continuity in general practice are not mutually exclusive. For this month's clinical section, senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft to look over a new report suggesting that mandatory NT-proBNP testing before heart failure referral would improve diagnosis of the condition in primary care. Their discussion focus on a much-debated report published by The Alliance for Heart Failure, which suggests that the condition is routinely being missed in primary care, and that GP practices and CDCs are not following 2010 NICE guidelines requiring the use of NT-proBNP testing to rule out heart failure. This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews. Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Pulse editor Sofia Lind and senior journalist Maya Dhillon reflect on the recent breakdown in the relationship between the BMA and the Government following months of growing animosity between the two. Following Pulse's exclusive reporting on the BMA losing its exclusive negotiating position for the 2026/27 GP contract, the pair look at we got to this point, and what the new stakeholder consultation model could mean for the profession. Sofia is then joined by GP and Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft to discuss whether GPs should really have a lower threshold for prescribing antibiotics in older people. This comes following the publication of England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty's annual report - this year into infectious diseases. And to round things off, Maya and Sofia check in with general practice in Northern Ireland following their visit to Pulse LIVE Belfast last month - with clips featuring RCGP NI chair Dr Ursula Mason; and the GMC's chair and chief executive Dame Carrie McEwen and Charlie Massey. This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews. Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

This episode of Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs explores the argument for increasing deprived-area GP funding; and the opportunities and pitfalls associated with plans for menopause to be added to the NHS Health Check. Editor-in-chief Jaimie Kaffash and features assistant Maya Dhillon discuss how GP practices with deprived patient populations should be supported, in light of the Government’s announcement of a review into the Carr-Hill funding formula. Jaimie draws on Pulse’s award-winning ‘Lost Practices‘ investigation (mentioned by DHSC in its announcement) which showed that, on average, the GP practices that close for good are in areas with areas of higher deprivation. The two also reflect on GP and founding member of the Scottish Deep End Project Professor Stewart Mercer’s speech at Pulse LIVE Glasgow, where he addressed delegates about how health inequalities manifest in GP consultations, and what can be done to help both patients and staff in deprived areas. But should the Government ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’? Listen to hear the differing arguments. Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by GP and clinical associate professor in women’s health and primary care at the University of Birmingham Dr Sarah Hillman, to mull over the addition of menopause questions to NHS Health Checks. The pair consider consider what questions should be asked and whether it will it encourage more women to take up the checks. But also whether it is necessary at all, or just a PR move. To ensure you don’t miss any of our future podcasts, make sure you follow Pulse in Focus on whatever podcast platform you use, to keep updated with all things general practice. This podcast is brought to you by X-on Health. Introducing Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS—the AI scribe built for UK general practice. It works seamlessly in your face-to-face and telephone consultations, capturing every detail safely and accurately, without clunky shortcuts. You can now try it free for three months. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

To mark our major new white paper Access All Areas, we have recorded a special episode of Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs. This is now live and available on all podcast platforms. The episode sees features assistant Maya Dhillon joined by editor-in-chief Jaimie Kaffash, who has authored the extensive report into general practice access. Jaimie shares his findings and recommendations, calling for ministers to prioritise GP continuity of care over access; to strengthen the partnership model; and to revamp contract funding. Notably, he argues that trust has to be restored in GPs by Government, as anything else is 'using a sledgehammer to crack a nut'. The pair also consider how 'access' is defined and measured; what systemic barriers are preventing GPs from improving patient access; how the 1 October contract changes show the direction of travel, and more. The report, Access All Areas, was launched at a fringe event of the Labour Party Conference and is based on a survey of 2,000 general practice staff, interviews with more than 100 and an analysis of more that 25 data sets on each practice in England. You can find all of Pulse's coverage - including analyses, case studies and data stories - of the Access All Areas white paper here.  To ensure you don’t miss any of our future podcasts, make sure you follow Pulse in Focus on whatever podcast platform you use, to keep updated with all things general practice. This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon. Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts. You can find all the data and the methodology in the full report. Click here to download the full report. GPs can download it for free. Commercial partner of this white paper: General Practice Solutions Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Pulse deputy news editor Anna Colivicchi discusses the contract changes to online access coming into force on 1 October with features assistant Maya Dhillon.  The pair look at what these changes will mean for practices, why GPs are concerned, as well as why the BMA has re-entered into dispute with the Government over it. GP and Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft returns, and explains the new NICE draft guidance for treating diabetes, which would see SGLT-2 inhibitors prescribed first-line for most diabetics – not just those with heart failure, cardiovascular disease or high cardiovascular risk as is currently the case Also, Maya and Pulse editor Sofia Lind reflect on CQC primary care chief inspector Professor Bola Owolabi's address at Pulse LIVE Newcastle. She gave the audience an update into what CQC is up to following two damning reviews last year. Professor Owolabi also answered our question on how the 'AI-led' inspections mentioned in the 10-year health plan will be different from the watchdog's previous 'intelligent monitoring' programme. To ensure you don’t miss any of our future podcasts, make sure you follow Pulse in Focus on whatever podcast platform you use, to keep updated with all things general practice. This podcast is brought to you by X-on Health. Introducing Surgery Intellect, powered by TORTUS—the AI scribe built for UK general practice. It works seamlessly in your face-to-face and telephone consultations, capturing every detail safely and accurately, without clunky shortcuts. You can now try it free for three months. Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.

Pulse editor Sofia Lind interviews GPC England chair Dr Katie Bramall about whether or not GPs could re-enter into dispute with the Government, and if so - what collective action could look like this time around.  This follows concerns over the 10-year plan, the future of the partnership model, and stagnation in negotiating a new wholesale GMS contract - a commitment promised by the Government as part of the 25/26 contract deal.  Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by GP and president of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society Professor Raj Thakkar. The pair discuss how reliable wearable tech is in monitoring patients' cardiology conditions and whether it can be used to clinch diagnoses, following a piece Professor Thakkar wrote for Pulse last month, which you can find here. And editor-in-chief Jaimie Kaffash talks about where the incoming cohort of newly-qualified GPs sit in the current unemployment crisis.  He discusses our new platform Pulse Careers, for GP trainees, newly-qualified GPs and those who are considering their next career move.  Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.