Resources

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people (CYP) is an area of growing concern, with many experiencing challenges that do not meet the threshold for specialist services but still requiring support. This is the third part in our series on CYP’s mental health. The first explored the assessment and referral process (Al-Yassin, 2024), and the second described the THRIVE framework for intervention and the role that general practice nurses (GPNs) can play in psychoeducation, and the ‘thriving’ and ‘getting advice’ quadrants (Al-Yassin, 2025). This third part takes a practical approach and shares cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) informed self-help techniques that can be shared with CYP and families for both anxiety and low mood. It also gives some thought to managing risk and the role of collaborative safety plans in this.

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.

Children represent a significant proportion of primary care consultations in the UK, with up to 25% of general practice interactions involving young patients (Gill and Thompson, 2015). However, the nature of paediatric healthcare needs is evolving, while acute consultations for febrile illnesses remain common, serious bacterial infections are now rare (Wolfe et al 2013). Instead, there is a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity and mental health disorders, which present new challenges for primary care providers (Di Cesare et al 2019; Fitzpatrick et al 2024). The changing spectrum of paediatric health issues demands, in the author’s opinion, that general practitioners (GPs and nurses) receive adequate and specialised training to manage these complexities effectively. This article highlights why specialist paediatric care is such a needed area of care, and spotlights two practitioners who are leading the way in providing high quality paediatric care in the community.

The independent investigation of the National Health Service in England led by Lord Darzi sets out the issues which will need addressing in the NHS 10-year plan. In his report,  Lord Darzi identifies the deteriorating performance of the NHS and highlights important difficulties, including health inequalities, worsening public health, long waiting
times and stagnant real term finance.

It’s that time again. A new government full of optimism and a freshly minted prime minister bursting with new ideas, the honeymoon period yet to slip into acrimony and divorce.

And we all know what comes next — a new report on the state of the NHS, usually followed by a top-to-bottom reorganisation that will miraculously shorten A&E waiting times, solve the staffing crisis and promise millions of pounds for community services or ailing critical care, whichever happens to be the flavour of the day.

After a long wait, and years after updated international guidelines, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has worked with the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) to produce a unified guideline on asthma for the UK (NICE et al, 2024).

Here, Callum Metcalfe-O’Shea, UK professional lead for long-term conditions at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), provides an overview of the important role that GPNs play in supporting patients living with long-term conditions. The value of GPNs will be explored, as well as the interventions they provide, relationships built between patients and nurses, and how we need to continue championing the GPN role to support the future of patient care.

Chronic breathlessness is very difficult to live with. It has widespread effects on both patients and those who care for them. And yet there are many ways that people can learn to cope with it, including using breathing techniques, adopting comfortable positions and using handheld fans and mobility aids. General practice nurses (GPNs) and other healthcare professionals have a vital role in helping people to manage their breathlessness. First, GPNs should acknowledge that breathlessness is difficult to live with and tell their patients that it is right that they have raised it as an issue to be addressed. Then, they can help patients to learn to manage their breathlessness and guide them to other sources of information and support. Some healthcare professionals find it hard to talk about breathlessness, but if they can help patients to see that it is an expected symptom, which is manageable, this could have a huge effect on their lives and help them to learn to live well with the condition.

Asthma is one of the most common long-term conditions (LTC) in the world. The UK has one of the highest prevalence rates of asthma worldwide, with asthma-related deaths continuing to rise each year. Supported self-management is imperative to enable people with asthma to live well. Low levels of self-management are linked to increased cost,
faster disease progression, early mortality, and increased multimorbidity (NHS England, 2024). This article highlights how primary care nurses, such as general practice nurses (GPNs), are well placed to support people living with asthma to self-manage their condition through the use of motivational interviewing and personalised asthma action plans (PAAPs), using a case study to demonstrate learning.

Anaemia is a common condition occurring worldwide. There are several different forms of anaemia, with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) being two of the most prevalent types. Both have similar symptoms but are associated with different causes. Differentiating between the two types and confirming the diagnosis can be a difficult process. This article gives an insight into these two diseases, providing nurses and nonmedical prescribers with an understanding of assessment, diagnosis and treatment.