Primary Care Knowledge Boost

Tips for listening, and how to avoid dismissing young women

08 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In this really interesting episode, Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan - Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine, and Dr Laura...

Chronic Kidney Disease

11 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Nephrologist Dr James Tollitt about Chronic Kidney Disease. We started by defining this and asking detailed ...

Type 2 Diabetes: Management Tips

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Endocrinologist Dr Rupinder Kochhar about patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Using hypothetical cases, we talk a...

Managing Heart Faiure, CKD and T2DM in Primary Care

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Nephrologist Dr Darren Green about patients with Type 2 Diabetes who also have Chronic Kidney Disease and H...

Parkinson's Disease

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are back with Consultant Neurologist Dr Antonella Macerollo for this episode about Parkinson’s disease.  We look at a typica...

Round up of the Year 2025

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa discuss the podcast episodes over the year. We talk about our longer term learning points, how the year has gone and what's to ...

Essential Tremor

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Consultant Neurologist Dr Antonella Macerollo about Essential Tremor (ET). We take a case and go through what ET is, h...

Managing Heart Failure and CKD in Primary Care

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Nephrologist Dr Darren Green about patients with Type 2 Diabetes who also have Chronic Kidney Disease and Hea...

Digital Developments in Primary Care

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa speak to Dr Chris Nortcliff who is a GP and Chief Clinical Information Officer for Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Boar...

Assisted Conception - Managing Subfertility in General Practice

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Cheryl Fitzgerald who is a retired gynaecologist with an extensive background in subfertility. Using a hypothet...

Where do your Microbiology Specimens go?

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Medical microbiology and Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr Callum Mutch to follow the journey of a urine sample an...

Introducing Episode 6 of the Contented Clinician Podcast: Presenting balanced information about benefits and harms to patients makes you more contented

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve got something a little bit different for you today, instead of our summer rewind. Some people may remember the wonderful episode about dealin...

Things you need to know about Microbiology

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Consultant Dr Callum Mutch for an overview of Antibiotics and Microbi...

Asthma Guidelines: What's new?

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara take a deep dive into the recent combined asthma guidelines with Dr Murugesan Raja who is a GP and clinical lead for respiratory...

Nasal Obstruction in Children

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode four of four on Paediatric ENT. Doctors Lisa and Sara are back with Paediatric Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Dr Simone Schaefer for this epis...

Recurrent Epistaxis in Children

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode three of four on Paediatric ENT. Doctors Lisa and Sara are back with Paediatric Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Dr Simone Schaefer for this epi...

Recurrent Tonsillitis in Children

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode two of four on Paediatric ENT conditions. Doctors Lisa and Sara are back with Paediatric Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Dr Simone Schaefer for...

Recurrent Acute Otitis Media in Children

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Episode one of four on Paediatric ENT conditions. Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Paediatric Ear Nose and Throat Consultant Dr Simone Schaefer for...

The Beauty of Balint Groups in General Practice

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by GP and Medical Educator Dr Alan Ng, working in Canada. We discuss what Balint groups are, starting from who Balint...

How General Practice can support International Medical Graduates

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara were delighted to interview Dr Sylvia Kama-Kieghe, a GP based in Sheffield with an interest in Women’s Health. She is the Chai...

Tips from an International Medical Graduate about joining General Practice

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the podcast this week we spoke to Dr Abid Ali Khan, a GP trainee in East London currently on a Clinical Fellowship in Leadership (National Medical...

Hepatitis C

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Hepatitis C GP Champion Dr Lindsey Kent and Greater Manchester Peer Programme Manager Tony Horrocks for an overview of H...

Round up of the Year 2024

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa discuss the podcast episodes over the year. We talk about our longer term learning points, how the year has gone and what's to c...

Constipation in Palliative Patients

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Locum Consultant Dr Caitriona MacDermott about assessing and managing constipation in Palliative Patients. A common symp...

Tips to Pass the SCA for GP Trainees

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As requested by GP Trainees, this week's episode is on tips to pass the Simulated Consultation Assessment exam; the final exam for GP trainees in the ...

COPD in General Practice

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Respiratory Physiotherapist Thomas James about COPD. We start with what COPD is, when to suspect it, a standard work up,...

Proactive Care - Dementia Projects

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Joanna Bircher, Dr Nikesh Vallabh, Shelley Ryder (SWAN PCN Manager and Transformation Lead) and Dr Fran Fitton. We f...

2024 Polypharmacy Summer Rewind

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

***SUMMER REWIND  - INITIALLY RELEASED ON 31ST JAN 2024*** To get in touch: [email protected] Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Pharma...

Palliative Care - Common Questions Answered

12 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Palliative Care Consultant Lesley Henson and Specialty Doctor Caitriona MacDermott for a discussion on common issues Pri...

Breathlessness in Palliative Care

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Palliative Care Consultant Lesley Henson and Specialty Doctor Dr Caitriona MacDermott about Breathlessness as a symptom ...

Osteoporosis

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Saadat Ahmed, ST5 in Geriatrics for a deep dive into Osteoporosis. We cover what it is, why it matters, what the risk...

GP Partner and other ways of working

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to GPs Dr Joanna Bircher, Dr Lucy Spurrell and Dr Dario Rydel about their experiences in different roles in General practic...

How General Practice is funded

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Tim Dalton, a GP in Wigan, and Chair of the Greater Manchester GP Provider Board. The focus of today’s episode is a...

Non-Clinical Passports: cultivating non-clinical expertise in General Practice

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined this week by Satty Boyes (Senior programme manager) and  Lorna Laflin (Previous Practice Manager who works with the ...

Anticipatory Prescribing in Primary Care

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Specialty Doctor Caitriona MacDermott about anticipatory prescribing for Palliative patients. An area where there has be...

MSK Mini-Series: Knee Pain

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the third episode in our MSK mini-series. Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Tom Smith and Charlotte Barker again, who are First Contact Practitio...

MSK Mini-Series: Shoulder Pain

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second episode in our MSK mini-series. Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Tom Smith and Charlotte Barker again, who are First Contact Practiti...

MSK Mini-Series: Back Pain

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first episode in a three part MSK mini-series, which aims to briefly capture important features in history, examination and further invest...

Polypharmacy

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Pharmacist Sarah Hafeez about Polypharmacy. She explains the difference between inappropriate and appropriate pol...

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak with Dr Anne Connolly, a GP with a special in Gynaecology, trained hysteroscopist, and founding member of the Primary Care...

Chronic Pain

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Mahindra Chincholkar, a consultant anaesthetist and Clinical Director Manchester and Salford Pain Centre. They take a...

Round up of the Year

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa discuss the podcast episodes over the year. We talk about our longer term learning points, how the year has gone and what's to c...

Frailty

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Sadaat Ahmed about Frailty. We discuss definitions, frailty syndromes, frailty scores and the need to take care with ...

Sustainability in General Practice

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The importance of addressing climate change and sustainability is gaining more traction across the NHS. In order to find out more about the situation,...

Research in General Practice

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to a GP involved in Primary Care Research Dr Imran Ghafoor and Ewa Grzegorska, a Research Support Facilitator from the Nati...

Dentistry as part of Primary Care

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To find out more about how Dentistry works in England, Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Greater Manchester Workforce Lead for Dentistry Mukhtar Ahmad. We...

Assessing a Child or Young Person with a Potential Eating Disorder

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Senior Eating Disorder Practitioners Vicky McGee and Rachelle Davies to get their advice on consulting with children and...

Workforce and Retention Issues in General Practice

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to GPs and Workforce Leads Dr Nikesh Vallabh and Dr Richard Bircher. They wanted to talk to us today to discuss a practical...

Hypertension - What’s New?

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Aseem Mishra to discuss changes in the guidelines for Hypertension. The discussion includes advice on how to get the ...

The Art of Stuck Cases: A Framework for Managing Complexity in Primary Care

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk with Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Mark Spurrell about a framework that can be applied to the care of complex patients with mu...

Community Optometry Explained

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Optometrist Dharmesh Patel to get an understanding of Optometry as part of the Primary Care Team. We discuss how the ser...

Ovarian Cancer

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to GP Dr Charlotte Bădescu about Ovarian Cancer. We focus on the important learning points about cardinal and other featur...

Community Pharmacy Explained

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Community Pharmacist and Director of Pharmacy Transformation for Greater Manchester Luvjit Kandula. We learn all a...

Staff Wellbeing - A New QOF Indicator

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined this week by Dominic Anderson (Programme Director of the Health and Wellbeing Programme Greater Manchester), Lorna La...

Red Flags for Gynaecological Cancers

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak with Dr Uma Marthi who is a GP with a Specialist Interest in Gynaecology about red flags for gynaecological cancers. We di...

Summer Rewind - Vertigo

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

**Summer Rewind: This episode was first released on Nov 30th 2022** Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Otolaryngologist Ms Emma Stapleton and Cl...

Everything you need to know about GP Appraisals

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak with GP Dr Allison Rees for her advice on how to approach GP Appraisals and Revalidation. We heard her talk about this in ...

Angina

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Wasim Javed, ST6 in Cardiology, about the diagnosis and management of Angina. Taking a theoretical case we talk throu...

Greater Manchester NHSE GP Fellowships - A Great Opportunity for New GPs

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to talk to Dr Mary Cheshire who is the GP lead on the NHS England Fellowships for Greater Manchester GPs. As she explains, ...

Long COVID - An Update

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to talk to GP and Professor of General Practice Research Dr Carolyn Chew-Graham about the current landscape of Long COVID t...

Changing Access Models in General Practice - A Success Story

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to GP Dr Adam Cliffe about how he and his practice went about changing the model by which patients access the practice. It ...

Cholesterol Management in General Practice

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Aseem Mishra, Academic GP trainee involved in helping produce the Guidelines for the Greater Manchester Lipid Pathway...

Common Throat Problems in General Practice

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to ENT Consultant Ms Sadie Khwaja about common throat symptoms we encounter in General Practice and get her take on how to ...

Equality and Diversity in General Practice

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Maiedha Raza to find out her take on issues of Equality and Diversity in General Practice. This is a gentle dive into...

Changes to the Two Week Wait Lower GI Pathway

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Sarah Taylor about the changes being made to how Primary Care Clinicians refer patients for Suspected Lower Gastroint...

An Approach to Rare Diseases in Primary Care

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to GP Dr David Bartlett who works with the Neuroendocrine Cancer UK charity and GP Dr Will Evans who is a researcher specia...

Managing Weight in General Practice

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dietician Charlotte Cockman about managing weight for patients who are overweight or obese in General Practice. This inc...

How Coaching and Mentoring can work in General Practice

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa speak with Christopher Lewis, Operations Learning and Development Manager for Greater Manchester Training Hub. His non-pretentio...

Vertigo

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk to Consultant Otolaryngologist Ms Emma Stapleton and Clinical Scientist David Jay about Vertigo. We discuss the definition,...

Health Inequalities in General Practice with Dr John Patterson

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa speak with Dr John Patterson about Health Inequalities. This is the second of our two talks on Health Inequalities, please check...

Health Inequalities in General Practice with Dr Laura Neilson

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa talk to Dr Laura Neilson the founder of Hope Citadel who is passionate about tackling Health Inequalities. She talks to us about...

Endometriosis

19 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak with GP Dr Uma Marthi about Endometriosis; a topic she is passionate about due to the common delay in diagnosis, coupled w...

How to use Consultation Skills to Improve Time Management

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Avil Danczak to talk about how we can use consultation skills to improve our time management in General Practic...

Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children (focus on FASD)

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Sara and Lisa speak with Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Raja Mukherjee about neurodevelopmental disorders in children. He has an interest in Foeta...

Dealing with Uncertainty in General Practice - Summer Replay

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

*Recorded in June 2020 - Summer Replay* In this episode Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Avril Danczak, a GP with an interest in managing uncertainty in medic...

Management of Diabetes Mellitus in Primary Care

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s episode is designed for primary care clinicians wanting an overview of current diabetes management. Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by ...

Diagnosing Diabetes Mellitus

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara are joined by Diabetes Lead for Manchester CCG GP Dr Marlon Morais and Diabetes Support Lead and Diabetes Specialist Nurse Nicol...

Easy Bruising and Bleeding

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara welcome Consultant Haematologist Dr Chris Gregory back to the podcast to discuss bruising and bleeding issues. We go through his...

Social Prescribing in Primary Care

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Drs Lisa and Sara were thrilled to welcome Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard onto the podcast to talk about one of her passions within medicine - so...

Assertiveness in General Practice

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today Lisa and Sara welcome Dr Rachel Morris back onto the podcast. Rachel is a former GP who has previously worked in GP education. She is now an exe...

Overactive bladder and continence issues in women

27 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is another episode with a focus on Urology. Doctors Lisa and Sara invited Professor Ian Pearce back to speak about overactive bladder and urinary...

ARRS Roles Clinical Supervision - Your Questions Answered

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Judith Dawson to learn all about the ins and outs of supervising the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme members as t...

Dieticians in Primary Care

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is another episode in the series looking at all of the different roles that exist within primary care. Doctors Lisa and Sara speak to Charlotte C...

Recurrent UTIs in non-pregnant women

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Drs Sara and Lisa tackle another urology topic today - recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in non-pregnant women. They speak to Ian Pearce who i...

Working with the Marginalised with Dr Austin O Carroll

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

****DISCLAIMER - CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE**** Doctors Lisa and Sara talk with GP Dr Austin O'Carroll. Austin works in Inner-City Dublin with marginali...

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Men

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Doctors Lisa and Sara talk with Consultant Urologist Dan Burke about Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Men. We start with how to divide symptoms into vo...

Working through a quality improvement project example

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is part 2 of our focus on Quality Improvement. This time Drs Lisa and Sara are joined by Dr Varshini Rajakulendran alongside Dr Joanna Bi...

Nursing Associates in Primary Care

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is another episode in the series looking at all of the different roles that exist within primary care. Lisa and Sara speak to Heidi West who is a...

Perinatal Mental Health

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joining doctors Lisa and Sara on today’s episode are GP and Perinatal Mental Health Champion Dr Carrie Ladd and Perinatal Psychiatrist Dr Sarah Jone...

Cardiology and Gastroenterology Advice and Guidance Themes

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Drs Lisa and Sara are joined by GP Dr Nikesh Vallabh, Consultant Cardiologist Dr Karthikeyan and Consultant Gastroenterologist Dr Bliss to discuss adv...

An Introduction to Quality Improvement

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Drs Lisa and Sara welcome Dr Joanna Bircher back to the podcast to speak about an area which she is very passionate about - Quality Improvement.  We ...

Trans and Non Binary Health in General Practice

24 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Drs Lisa and Sara talk to Dr Luke Wookey, Dr Joanna Bircher and Ava Bircher for an introduction to Trans and Non-Binary Health in General Practice. W...

Advanced Clinical Practitioners in Primary Care

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa and Sara speak to Sam Howard, who is an advanced clinical practitioner in primary care. She talks us through her career journey to date and what ...

Pharmacists in Primary Care

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is another of our lovely chats with wider members of the primary care team. Today Lisa and Sara speak to Vishika Rabadia, a senior pharma...

Looking after yourself in General Practice

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Working in General Practice can be challenging at the best of times, but needless to say has been more challenging of late.  Lisa and Sara are joined...

An Approach to Assessing Peripheral Paraesthesia

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Back by popular demand, Consultant Neurologist Dr Matt Jones joins us to share his approach to assessing patients with peripheral paraesthesia. Patien...

Psoriasis

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa and Sara are joined again by the lovely Dr Rachel Hilton, who is a speciality doctor in Dermatology. In this episode she takes us through psorias...

Eczema

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Speciality Doctor Rachel Hilton joins us on the podcast to talk about eczema. You’ll hear from the episode that she is passionate about getting the ...

Summer Replay - Early Diagnosis of Cancer

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Originally recorded in January 2020 and released in August 2020... Early diagnosis of cancer is a huge priority in order to try to improve our cancer ...

Long COVID

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa and Sara talk to GP and Professor of General Practice Research Carolyn Chew Graham about Long COVID. We discuss what Long COVID is, its prevalenc...