Treatment pathways Resources

Asthma is now considered a heterogeneous disease rather than a single airways condition, with distinct endotypes defined by the immunological and inflammatory pathways. These endotypes help to explain the underlying variable clinical presentations, which are defined as phenotypes (Kuruvilla et al, 2019; Holguin et al, 2020). This article examines how the role of the general practice nurse (GPN) can help to identify patients on the asthma register, who have as yet undiagnosed severe asthma and may benefit from targeted biological treatment.

When most people think of a pharmacist, they immediately think of a person who stands behind a counter and dispenses medicines with instructions for use. But, the role of the pharmacist is changing. They have been identified as having a key role in delivering the NHS Long Term Plan. Within the speciality of wound care and compression therapy, pharmacists are ideally placed to offer advice and support in the management of simple wounds, such as cuts and grazes, blisters, lacerations and minor burns. They are also able to support the delivery of venous leg ulcer management by supplying compression therapy as first-line treatment as soon as possible.This article explores recent developments for pharmacists and how their role could free up general practitioner (GP), general practice nurse (GPN) and community nurse time.