Medical Centre

A recent news article in the BMJ   reported that many clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England are trying to restrict NHS prescriptions for drugs that are also available over the counter (OTC). This would include, for example, drugs such as antihistamines. This raises a number of issues. Firstly, CCGs have no legal power to limit the prescribing of drugs by GPs (although many CCGs and GPs don’t seem to know this). The only drugs that GPs are not allowed to prescribe are those listed in Part XVIIIA of the NHS Drug Tariff (sometimes referred to as the ‘blacklist’).  Secondly, rather than going through a formal process and asking the Department of Health to place additional drugs on the ‘blacklist’, CCGs seem content to let doctors decide who should have these drugs on NHS prescription and who should not. This will inevitably lead to considerable variation between GPs in their propensity to prescribe these drugs, thereby leading to ‘postcode prescribing’.  Thirdl...

The BMJ published an interview with me in March 2017 for their ' Observations ' section. What was your earliest ambition? As a boy I was keen to be a pilot. My poor eyesight put an end to that ambition. Who has been your biggest inspiration? Two of my former consultants, James Stuart and Keith Cartwright, who mentored me early in my career, helped me write my first scientific papers, and started me on my academic career path. What was the worst mistake in your career? Early in my career I admitted a man who had undergone some changes in behaviour after a minor head injury. I did not consider ordering a CT scan immediately, but fortunately my senior registrar did, and a diagnosis of a subdural haematoma was made. The patient underwent surgery that evening and had a good outcome. What was your best career move? Moving to London in the 1990s to take up my first academic post. Although I was unsure about moving to such a large city, having always lived in much smaller...

The UK’s departure from the European Union will have wide ranging consequences, including doctors leaving the country. As a member of the EU for over 40 years, the UK is fully linked with Europe in all sectors of its society. This includes the NHS, which faces major risks if it fails to tackle the challenges that Brexit poses. The NHS has faced shortages in its clinical workforce for many decades and has relied heavily on doctors, nurses, and other health professionals who were trained overseas to fill the gaps. This reliance will not end in the foreseeable future. Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary for England, has announced that the government will support the creation of an additional 1500 medical student places at England’s medical schools, but these students won’t complete their medical courses and postgraduate medical training for over 10 years. The recruitment of medical staff trained overseas has been facilitated by EU legislation on the mutual recognition of the training o...

My article in the BMJ considers how doctors should approach the management of a woman with a suspected viral rash during pregnancy. Key points in the article include: Consider country of origin in a woman presenting with a rash in pregnancy and ask for immunisation history. Test for measles and rubella IgM and IgG antibodies, particularly if immunisation history is not clear. Refer women with an active infection to the fetal medicine unit for fetal monitoring. The full article can be read in the BMJ .

Heart attack symptoms might have been missed in many patients, according to a study on all heart attack hospital admissions and deaths in England from Imperial College London. More research is urgently needed to establish whether it is possible to predict the risk of fatal heart attacks in patients for whom this condition was not recorded as the main reason for hospital admission. The study was published in The Lancet Public Health . Heart disease is one of the leading killers in the UK. According to the British Heart Foundation, heart attacks lead to one hospital visit every three minutes. They are caused by a decrease in blood flow to the heart, usually as a result of coronary heart disease. Symptoms may include sudden chest pain or a 'crushing' sensation that might spread down either arm. Patients might also experience nausea or shortness of breath. However, some heart attacks have more subtle symptoms and may therefore be missed or overlooked. In this study, we examine...