The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines chronic pain as that which persists beyond the expected healing time which often has no identifiable cause, and no clear pathway to a cure (IASP 2020, Malik 2020). Common chronic pain syndromes are well documented within the care home setting, but what about dental pain?… Continue reading Dental Pain in Care Homes

Whether we’re buying a new computer, washing machine or holiday, most of us have probably used websites that allow us to compare prices or read expert and consumer views before we click ‘purchase’. So websites that give the lowdown on interventions to improve child and youth well-being won’t be a completely unfamiliar concept. Recent years… Continue reading Buying interventions: are comparison websites helpful? – Nick Axford

Reflections on SAPC-SW The South-West Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC-SW) conference is a local, friendly, conference attended by a delightful mixture of practitioners and academics.  The variety of attendees and the localised nature of the conference result in presentation content that is an interesting melting pot of clinical and PhD student projects, results from… Continue reading Reflections on SAPC-SW by Charley Hobson-Merrett

Sarah Rybczynska-Bunt and Richard Byng ask GPs what the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us about remote consulting for patients with complex health and social care needs ‘It comes back to what it is our attitude towards these patients and whether we have a willingness to deal with these people or whether we would rather they… Continue reading ‘Pulling complex patients out from under the sofa’ – seven considerations for remote consultations with those who have additional needs’

A team funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research and led by Kerryn Husk (University of Plymouth) and Vashti Berry (University of Exeter), with Jane Smith, (APeX, University of Exeter) is in the early stages of a project which aims to extend the evidence base for how children… Continue reading Children and Young People Social Prescribing – now known as CHOICES!

The Dementia – PersonAlised Care Team (D-PACT) programme is an NIHR funded project, aimed at developing and evaluating a dementia support worker intervention based in general practice for individuals living with dementia and their carers. Our website has full details: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/primarycare/dementia/dementia-personalised-care-team Current NIHR guidance advocates that research should strive to improve the inclusion of individuals with dementia, including those who lack capacity… Continue reading Judging capacity in dementia studies: Insights from face-to-face and remote recruitment  

The Community and Primary Care Research Group has at its heart the Professional Services Team. You may ask, “Why do I need administration?” The answer is, more than you may realise! They are the wheels that keep the ‘well-oiled machine’ rolling along, and they do a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure… Continue reading Professional Services at the Heart of Research

There is significant research interest into how nature, natural environments, and associated activities might benefit health; particularly mental health. Clearly, this has become more important over the last year or so. Announced in July 2020, and running for the next two years, there has been a £5.8m investment by the Department for Environment, Food and… Continue reading Green Social Prescribing rollout is all push and no pull? An opinion piece by Dr Tom Thompson and Dr Kerryn Husk

I started working from home on March 18th 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and like many, I’m yet to return to the office. What we thought would be a precautionary few months has turned into fourteen and counting, requiring adaptability and resilience to cope with a new way of life. Coupled with… Continue reading Working from home – a blessing in disguise? My personal perspective.