Advice centre

Dr Robin Chesters had been a partner in a practice for six years before he bit the bullet and decided to launch his career as a locum GP. Sara Williams asks: What’s so great about locuming?

Document telephone consultations contemporaneously. Obtain and document a thorough history. Telephone consultations do not give a GP the opportunity to assess clinical signs.

Julie Price, Clinical Risk Programme Manager, investigates whether practices are handling controlled drugs safely

One of the biggest risks in treating elderly patients in nursing homes is communication. Dr Rachel Birch, a sessional GP and MPS medicolegal adviser, reviews a case where communication failure led to patient harm. she then answers typical medicolegal queries around community care

Dr Richard Stacey provides a step-by-step approach to dealing with patients who do not comply

In this issue we bring you two interesting cases; the first encourages GPs to exercise caution when diagnosing haematuria, and the second highlights how various poor communication channels can have a negative impact on patient care.

In her last column, our columnist Laura Davison, talks about her experiences of being a new GP.

Mrs H was a 35-year-old teaching assistant who also had two school-aged children. She was obese with a BMI of 40. In 2006, she had seen Dr G with left knee pain. Dr G recorded that on examination her knee was tender over her medial joint line but was otherwise stable. He initially prescribed diclofenac and advised her to lose weight.