The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Long-term antidepressant use, much longer than recommended by guidelines, may cause harmful effects and generate unnecessary costs. ⋯ Deprescribing long-term AD is a difficult and complex process for HPs. The review found evidence that the barriers far outweigh the facilitators. More education on the lack of evidence for the long-term effect of AD and the risks of long-term use, guidance on managing long-term use, and support for HPs and patients is needed to increase long-term AD discontinuation. Further research from an HP perspective other than GPs is required and should also explore how HPs can be supported in managing discontinuation ADs.
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Recent policy initiatives seeking to address the workforce crisis in general practice have promoted greater multidisciplinarity. Evidence is lacking on how changes in staffing and the relational climate in practice teams affect the experiences of staff and patients. ⋯ Evidence regarding team composition and team climate in relation to staff and patient outcomes remains limited. Challenges exist when drawing conclusions across different team compositions and differing definitions of team climate. Future research may benefit from exploring the conditions that generate a productive team climate.
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IMG's experience disproportionally worse outcomes in GP Specialty Training when compared to their peers.1 This disparity in outcomes is not explained by any single identifiable trainee factor such as the academic ability, or trainee motivation and is called Differential Attainment.2Woolfe et al (2016) found factors such as lack of autonomy about the geographical location of work, combined with poor work-life balance can leave trainees unsupported, isolated, and vulnerable to anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions 3 coupled with potential stigma of supplementary help, anxiety about the increased probability of exam failure, visa difficulties and costs, all impact on the trainees' chances of progressing through training. 3 AIM: An evaluation of The Social Prescribing Scheme Pilot for International Medical Graduate GP Trainees in Yorkshire and the Humber. ⋯ Human factors such as accommodation and financial worries can have a huge impact on trainees' wellbeing and progression and should not be underestimated.
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Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHS is facing increasing pressures because of growing patient demand and hospital backlogs. With the number of GPs declining, the average number of patients per GP has increased. There are reports of hospital trusts and GP practices introducing doctors' assistants (DAs) to help with clinical and administrative tasks, which has reduced the workload of doctors. As the authors are not aware of any DAs working with GPs locally, Maylands Healthcare (14 000 patients) has introduced this new workforce model by assigning a DA to each clinician's worklist. ⋯ This study demonstrates that the introduction of DAs has helped to manage the administrative workload in primary care, improving efficiency, patient care, and safety.