Seminar by Professor Helen Lester

Our lunchtime seminar this week was given by Helen Lester, Professor of Primary Care at the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre at the University of Manchester. She has been a GP in Birmingham since 1990. Most of her academic work has focused on improving care for people with mental health problems and on quality improvement more generally. Professor Lester is also the academic clinical lead of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (working as the external contractor to NICE), vice chair of the Society for Academic Primary Care and an elected member of College Council. In her spare time, she writes for the British Journal of General Practice as one of the ‘back page’ columnists. Professor Lester spoke about the benefits that we have seen in health care delivery in the UK from the implementation of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. These include a reduction in health inequalities.

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Family Medicine Residency Training Program in Saudi Arabia

Dr Ahmed Al-Mujil is a Family Medicine Doctor from Saudia Arabia on a one year attachment to the Academic Dept of Primary care at Imperial. In this blog he gives us a unique insight into Family Medicine training in Saudia Arabia. The Family Medicine Residency Training Program in Saudi Arabia was established in 1994, at which time the first edition of the curriculum was written. Since then, Family Medicine and medical education have undergone significant changes. The curriculum was revised many times, until recent adoption of the Canadian Medical Education Directive for Specialists- CanMeds competencies framework in which the “competent physician” seamlessly integrates the competencies of all seven CanMEDS Roles. (Medical expert, Collaborator, Communicator , Leader , Health Advocate, Scholar and Professional). The duration of training in Family Medicine is four years starting from the first of October every year. All trainees must go through the rotations in their traini...

Farewell to Dr Jenny Lebus - Our longest serving member of staff

It is with great sadness that we say a fond farewell to Dr Jenny Lebus who will be retiring at the end of June after 32 years of service at the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London and its predecessor medical schools. . Jenny began her academic teaching career when her trainer, Dr James Scobie, who was a GP tutor for the old Charing Cross Medical School, invited her to accompany him to a study day with the students. Her interest was ignited and she joined a department that at that time consisted of three people when General Practice occupied only one week of a five-year curriculum. Despite having no administrative support or funding to pay general practices, Jenny was successful in recruiting practices and saw the course and department steadily grow from humble beginnings. From that one week in Year 4, the course grew to two weeks in Year 4 and two weeks in Year 5, whilst also changing course names from Core 1 and Core 2, to General Practice and ...

Integrating Work Coaches for Employment Support in GP practices

The integration of Work Coaches (WCs) & Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs) into UK General Practice (GP) provides an innovative approach to bridging the gap between health & employment services. We now reflect on the findings of our recent study led by Shriti Patani, Lara Shemtob & Kabir Varghese in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London. The study explored the benefits & challenges of integrating emplyment support services in primary care from the perspectives of GPs & work coaches. What’s the context? Employment is a critical social determinant of health, with unemployment linked to poorer physical & mental wellbeing & reduced quality of life. Traditionally, individuals seeking employment support access services through Jobcentres. However, barriers including stigma or lack of awareness - especially in people with disabilities or long-term health conditions -...

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