This year we have combined our Pulse LIVE and Nursing in Practice events, bringing our GP and nurse community together for the first time. On 30 September we held the first of these combined events in London, where almost 700 healthcare professionals shared the challenges they are facing in primary care and gained topical and practical advice from our expert speakers.

Pulse LIVE & Nursing in Practice London offered a great opportunity to hear the different perspectives from our audience, and for the different roles to learn from one another.

Topics covered this year included:

• Virtual assessment of people presenting with neurological symptoms
• Liver disease in primary care
• Wound hygiene: Four simple steps to progress hard-to-heal wounds
• Cardio-renal-metabolic multi-morbidity
• Is it long covid?
• Scoliosis
• Tackling the cholesterol challenge: An innovative approach to lipid management in primary care
• ENT in general practice
• Urology in primary care

The four-stream agenda allowed delegates to pick and choose which sessions to attend, tailoring the event to their individual learning needs. We were joined by Marilyn Eveleigh, registered nurse, midwife, health visitor and advisory board member, Nursing in Practice; Dr Joe McGilligan, senior GP partner in Surrey and former chair, East Surrey CCG; and Dave Munday, lead professional officer (mental health) at Unite the union, health visitor and registered nurse; who each chaired a stream and encouraged delegates to take part in the Q&As.

In the exhibition hall, delegates were able to network with our clients including Benecol, Chiesi, Glenmark, Lantum and Novartis, to discuss their needs and those of their patients.

The event has proved popular with over 97% of attendees recommending it to a friend*. Here’s just some of the great comments we’ve received:

• “Energising to be back at a live event. Great to see friends and engage with learning.”
• “As good as ever. Have really missed the in-person learning.”
• “Since the pandemic, a refreshing change to see exhibitors and speakers delivering updates. Excellent, concise topics presented by good speakers.”

Our team are busy working on the final event in the series for 2021: Pulse & Nursing in Practice Birmingham – 11 November 2021, The National Conference Centre. If you are interested in being there as an attendee, speaker or sponsor, do get in touch: [email protected] for more information.

In this issue of Hospital Pharmacy Europe, we publish the results of an original international collaboration to determine which types of Clinical pharmacy services (CPS) are needed at a small rural hospital in Austria and assess the physicians’ acceptance rate of the pharmacists’ suggestions.

Implementing clinical pharmacy services (CPS) in a rural hospital has been shown to enhance patient safety and provide cost efficiencies. However, in countries such as Austria, few hospitals have a dedicated pharmacy department, and even fewer offer CPS.

Vaccine hesitancy is a complex issue that affects hospital pharmacy staff receiving the influenza vaccine. In this issue, Ryan Hamilton and Adam Baker of De Montfort University, UK discuss the drivers for uptake and hesitancy and propose interventions to address this.

In the first of a short series, Alistair Gray details how the creation of a Fluid Stewardship Committee at Royal Blackburn Hospital in the UK has led to better systems, processes and innovations to support effective intravenous fluid prescribing and management.

We have had a fantastic response to our return to face-to-face conferences, with over 1,300 healthcare professionals joining us so far at events across the UK. With further events scheduled this year in Birmingham, London and Newcastle where we are looking forward to welcoming GPs, nurses, Practice Managers, PCN clinical directors, and administration and reception teams.

Our recent events have covered a great range of topics and given attendees an invaluable space in which to learn, connect and collaborate. At the combined Pulse LIVE and Nursing in Practice conferences our experts gave their professional guidance on clinical pathways and an introduction to innovative digital tools; at Management in Practice London discussions focused on post-pandemic telephony, remote consultations, and how to manage inbound demand; whilst at our brand-new Pulse PCN forums delegates shared their views on how to respond to post-pandemic healthcare challenges.

Our attendees have greatly enjoyed returning to events in person, telling us that they ‘have really missed in-person learning’ and that it was ‘energising to be back at a live event’.

Here’s what we have coming up for the rest of 2021:

• Management in Practice Birmingham – 9 November
• Pulse/Nursing in Practice Birmingham – 11 November
• Pulse PCN London – 25 November
• Management in Practice Newcastle – 30 November
• General Practice Awards – 10 December

If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at our remaining 2021 live events, please contact [email protected] for further details.

Pulse are thrilled to have five award nominations at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards 2021.

Pulse is nominated for Team of the year (news team), Business publication of the year, Media brand of the year, Editor of the year and Launch of the year (for Pulse PCN), after what as been a very busy year and a half for the team, continuing to support GPs through the pandemic.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Friday 26th November 2021.

 

14 September was a big day for our events team as we held our first face-to-face conference since February 2020. We welcomed Practice Managers, GP Partners, Receptionists and Administrators at the ILEC Conference Centre for Management in Practice London.

It was fantastic to see our community in person once again, and to listen to engaging presentations and discussions.

Topics covered this year included:

• HR and employment updates
• Changes in commissioning
• Legal considerations for PCNs
• COVID-19
• Resilience and wellbeing
• NHS Pension Scheme
• PCN service specifications
• CQC: What’s new for primary care
• Remote consultations
• Post pandemic surgery telephony

Chaired by Jo Wadey, Director, Institute of General Practice Management; Myra Upton, president of AMSPAR; and Moira Auchterlonie Practice Management Network Board & Lay/Patient Reviewer, the event offered delegates a choice of talks, dedicated networking time and a lively exhibition to explore.

Our exhibitors and sponsors represented a range of sectors including technology, medical supplies, recruitment, financial planning, and legal advice. Attendees were able to discuss the needs of their practice and patients in a relaxed environment.

The event has proved popular with over 98% of attendees recommending it to a friend*. Here’s just some of the great comments we’ve received:

• “Great opportunity to meet like-minded colleagues face to face. Nice to know that ours is not the only practice facing challenges in the current climate.”
• “It was my first conference and was very pleased with all the presentations/meetings I attended. Very good choice for people of different skills and interests.”
• “It was wonderful to meet other colleges after a long time and have updates on what is going to happen in future.”

Our team are busy working on the final two dates for 2021:

• Management in Practice Birmingham – 9 November 2021, The National Conference Centre
• Management in Practice Newcastle – 30 November 2021, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead

If you are interested in being there as an attendee, speaker or sponsor, do get in touch: [email protected] or visit our website for more information.

This month, Pulse has an iconic cover; a pastiche of Game of Thrones, warning that winter is coming.

The feature looks at all the problems facing GPs and the NHS this winter, concluding that this might actually be the worst winter for the health service. 

Alongside this, we look at the media storm around GPs apparently not seeing patients face to face. Our survey of 1,000 GPs revealed that they are seeing patients who need to be seen face to face and that waiting times have decreased as a result of the move to a mixed model of in-person and remote consultations. 

Our clinical section features a casebook on Parkinson’s, while we continue our Long Covid series, this month focusing on chest pains. Alongside this, we have the second part of our gynaecology remote consultations guide. 

The CPD this month features dealing with difficult conversations, while Copperfield directs his ire to the NHS’s insistence that GPs seek advice and guidance from secondary care before referring.

Practice and community nurses spoke about the difficulties they are having to prepare for a tough autumn and winter ahead, for the latest edition of Nursing in Practice magazine.

One of the major issues has been the Government did not confirm the Covid booster jab programme until 14 September. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid had been indicating people would get their third Covid vaccination from September along with the flu jab.

But when he finally announced the booster programme would go ahead there were few details or guidance on how the two vaccination programmes would be run alongside each other – with vaccinators being given just days to start administering boosters.

A clinical director at a primary care network in the south of England, who wished to remain anonymous, told Nursing in Practice: ‘There’s been a black hole of information around the boosters. Without clarity, there’s a lot of unnecessary work having to be done.’ A practice nurse in the south-west of England, who also did not wish to be named, explained her surgery had reorganised flu jabs to co-ordinate them with the booster jabs.

‘It has meant a lot of disappointed patients and extra admin too’, the nurse from the south-west of England said.

Adding to the pressure is nurses are playing catch-up to clear the backlog of services, including delayed shingles, measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations.

Practice nurse Elia Monteiro raised concerns to Nursing in Practice that the huge workload meant nurses were unable to give patients the time they needed, which could risk patient safety.

The BMA trade union has called for practices to receive extra funds to help them deal with the Covid crisis. ‘We went into the pandemic with far too few GPs, nurses and wider practice staff, meaning practices were already struggling to meet the needs of patients safety,’ BMA GP committee chair Dr Richard Vautrey told Nursing in Practice. ‘As we head into what looks to be one of the most difficult winters most of us will ever have experienced there needs to be an understanding of the huge pressure on practices.’

The Government this month pledged £5.4bn to help the NHS clear the backlog of services. It was unclear how much, if any, would go to practices. An NHS recovery ‘recovery 10 point action plan’, also released this month, said practices would get a funding boost in the second half of this year.

But by the end of the month it was still ‘TBC’ when practices would get this extra cash and how much it will be. So practices were left waiting to know whether it would be enough and received quickly enough to really help them get through the tough winter ahead.

Cogora is proud to announce the shortlist for the General Practice Awards 2021 – an annual celebration and recognition of the hard work, innovation, and dedication taking place in primary care across the UK.

Showcasing the very best projects, teams, and leaders and sharing in achievements, the awards are a fantastic chance to step back and reflect on the past year – and what a year it has been for you all. We salute your continued dedication to your healthcare communities and the well-being of your patients.

We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for the General Practice Awards 2021; hundreds of fantastic nominations were received, from individuals and teams working across the full scope of general practice whilst facing the unprecedented challenge of a worldwide pandemic, as well as suppliers and organisations who provide incredible support, products, and services for the healthcare professionals.   

“We were in awe of all the inspiring work being carried out, despite the immense strain the healthcare sector was put under” say Jessica Cornish, Cogora’s events marketing manager. “Our expert judges completed their scoring, with many categories proving a tough deliberation .The quality of the entries this year was incredibly high

We want to congratulate everyone who has been shortlisted, it’s a fantastic achievement to get this far considering the trying times you have faced. We look forward to seeing lots of you at the Awards evening to celebrate.

We would like to say a big thank you to our sponsors, without whom the awards would not be possible, and to our wonderful judges without whom we would not have our shortlist”.

Tickets for the General Practice Awards 2021 Ceremony will be on sales by mid September. If you are interested in attending, please contact [email protected] for more information.

A Pulse exclusive that hundreds of thousands of Astra Zeneca Covid-19 vaccines were going to waste was picked up by the Telegraph and featured on BBC Radio Surrey and Sussex.

‘Tens of thousands’ of excess doses of the Astra Zeneca Covid vaccine risk being wasted when they expire over the next week, Pulse has been told, as NHS England admitted planned collections were ‘seriously delayed’. NHS England began asking vaccination sites for data on excess doses in May, and has since advised that it would ‘collect the vaccine and hope to move it internationally’, a GP whistle-blower told Pulse.

The story has been covered by the Telegraph.

Pulse is now the most widely read non-reference journal among GPs, with a higher readership than the BMJ and the British Journal of General Practice, according to the recently released GP Media Survey (GPMS 2021).

There was an average issue readership of 35% of GPs for Pulse over the past 12 months, the survey of GPs revealed. This compares with scores of 29% for the BMJ and 19% for the British Journal of General Practice.

The 2020 version of the survey showed that the BMJ was slightly ahead on average issue readership, with 29% to 28% for Pulse, but the past year has seen Pulse streak ahead.

The research also showed an 8% increase in brand reach for Pulse and 21% increase in website use over the past 12 months.

The NMRS is commissioned each year by JICMARS (Joint Industry Committee of Medical Advertisers for Readership Surveys), a group of healthcare publishers and media buyer representatives.

The 2021 annual report, published this week, is based on 12 months of fieldwork using a sample of 528 GPs. The data are weighted to the estimated universe of all GPs based on counts provided by IQVIA, the sample list provider.

Publications included in the survey (based on the latest period) were: BMA News, BMJ, GP magazine, Prescriber, British Journal of General Practice, GM, Guidelines in Practice, Pulse, The Practitioner, Guidelines and MIMS. Pulse is published by Cogora Ltd.

It follows a very successful year for Pulse, which has won an array of awards, including British Society of Magazine Editors and Medical Journalists Association editor of the year and BSME Talent Team of the Year.

The 2021 issue of Hospital Healthcare Europe kicks off with our Radiology and Imaging supplement. 

The Hospital Healthcare Europe, in association with HOPE, continues to provide high-quality, clinical education and detail the latest developments in healthcare and technologies in 2021. 

Read the Radiology and Imaging supplement to:

• Learn how innovative technologies have transformed the standard of care in high level disinfection in ultrasound   
• Meet the Experts and hear of their work across the British Medical Ultrasound Society, the ESR Subcommittee on Ultrasound and the Royal College of Radiologists’ Informatics Committee  
• Access guideline summaries and read about recent key research in the field.  

Further supplements to Cardiology, HOPE, Oncology, Emergency Care and Pathology Diagnostics will be published through 2021. 

In Pulse’s summer edition of the magazine we investigate the thorny issue of GPs’ patient records being extracted by the Government, ‘Big brother’s big data grab’ – plus the resulting impact on patient relationships and what GPs could be liable for once the data is passed on.

Pulse also takes a look at how the Covid pandemic has changed GPs’ career plans for good. Following a year like no other, many want remote working to stay and a better work-life balance.

Meanwhile, Pulse officially launched its campaign, ‘Building a Better General Practice’, which will redefine the purpose and vision of primary care, according to what GPs want.

Pulse features assistant Eleanor Philpotts has won two awards at the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards.

Eleanor won an award for ‘scoop of the year’, for her revelation about the Covid vaccination programme starting before Christmas 2020, and an award for best editorial assistant.

The judges praised Eleanor for ‘grasping the opportunities presented by the biggest health stories for a generation, acting up as a writer who has gone after the biggest stories’.

Eleanor’s ‘incredible scoop about the vaccine’ was picked up by ‘just about every other media outlet in the UK’, the judges said.

The story in early November was the first to reveal that a vaccination programme was far closer than expected, with a DES in place to begin before Christmas.

Cogora had six nominations in total, with Nicola Merrifield nominated for deputy editor of the year, Sofia Lind for team leader of the year, Costanza Pearce for digital writer of the year and Rachel Carter for best scoop of the year.

Last week, Sofia Lind won ‘unsung hero of the year’ at the PPA awards.

Pulse editor Jaimie Kaffash said: ‘Eleanor has stepped up over the past year, and her enthusiasm is unmatched. She is willing to take on any role and, at a time when Covid affected the size of the team, and left us with more work than we have ever had, her contribution was invaluable and she fully deserves these awards.

‘The whole Pulse team has been incredible this year. While our readers have been on the front line against the virus, all we could do is support them in any way we can, and I am in awe of how the team has achieved this.’  

Pulse news editor Sofia Lind has won the ‘unsung hero of the year’ award at the prestigious Professional Publishers Association awards.

Nominations were invited by the PPA for those who had shown an outstanding level of commitment to their team, was a role model and championed best practice.

In announcing the winners at the PPA 2021 awards, judges said they were so impressed with Sofia’s output and relentless efforts during 2020. One noted her work had been ‘truly inspiring – Superwoman doesn’t come close’.

They added that Sofia had met every challenge magnificently and was hugely influential in increasing the traffic to the Pulse news section, by ensuring coverage of the most important stories.

Pulse editor Jaimie Kaffash said, as it had been for everyone, last year was a tough year for Pulse and the pandemic hit just as Sofia returned from maternity leave.

‘The Pulse news team produced more and more stories that were vital for GPs, with a smaller team than ever. We broke huge exclusives, sending out multiple breaking news a day.

‘Sofia was at the hub of this, being an absolute superstar and her knowledge of general practice puts me to shame. “Superwoman” is certainly an understatement,’ he said.

The ‘unsung hero’ accolade adds to a number of awards Pulse has won in recent years including for its Covid coverage.

The news team also won team of the year in four of the past five years at the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent awards, scoop of the year at the same awards in 2020, and editor of the year at the Medical Journalists Association awards in 2020.

With weight constantly linked to the severity of Covid-19 during the pandemic, Nursing in Practice’s Summer edition looks at whether the Government’s latest obesity strategy will be effective.

The strategy includes plans to print calorie content on restaurant menus and ban the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar or salt on television and online in England before 9pm from April next year.

In March this year, the Government’s latest obesity strategy was allocating £100m to help with its plans, with money expected to be spent on weight management services and initiatives to help people lose weight.

The Tackling obesity policy paper, published by the Department of Health and Social Care in July last year, notes: ‘There is now consistent evidence that people who are overweight or living with obesity who contract coronavirus are more likely to be admitted to hospital, to an intensive care unit and, sadly to die from Covid-19 compared to those of a healthy body weight status.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, talking about having Covid-19 himself last year, said the severity of his illness – he was admitted to intensive care – was because he was ‘too fat’.

But this is the 14^th such Government strategy and high rates obesity in England show none of these have so far been consistently successful.

According to NHS data, in 2018 63% of adults in England were above a healthy weight and one in three children leave primary school being overweight or obese. This is calculated to cost the NHS £6bn a year.

To be successful, our articles highlights, this latest strategy must recognise and tackle inequalities across the country.

‘Obesity prevalence is highest amongst the most deprived groups in society,’ the obesity paper states. ‘Children in the most deprived parts of the country are more than twice as likely to be obese as their peers living in the richest areas.’

GP Matthew Capehorn tells us about an innovative initiative he set up in Rotherham in 2009 – the Rotherham Institute for Obesity, which helped people lose a cumulative 34 tons over three years. He suggests the Government’s strategy could be successful if it targets a lot of the money to weight management services ‘preferably in a primary care setting’.

Toni Jenkins, an obesity nurse specialist, agrees primary care has a central role to play in tackling weight issues. ‘There should be training funded by the Government for all nurses in general practice’, she urges.