Resources

Cervical cancer is one of the main causes of death among women with a cervix globally, and yet it is mostly preventable. Screening programmes within the UK, for example, fail to be accessed by many due to a plethora of reasons, including failing to see cervical screening as a priority and concerns around the screening process itself. In light of failure to attend, many women receive a late diagnosis of cervical cancer and sadly treatment plans can be limited in their success. This paper highlights the importance of reducing the barriers associated with cervical screening and emphasises the importance of healthcare professionals taking positive action to increase the numbers attending. It also highlights the importance of young people receiving the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination (both girls and boys), as this has been proven to significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer. Cervical screening does not eliminate cervical cancer, but it can help to detect it early and, in so doing, increase the chances of survival.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infection spread by the bite of an infected tick. Eating or drinking raw (unpasteurised) milk or dairy products from infected animals (cows, goats and sheep) is also a risk. Ticks carrying TBE are found in forests, grasslands, moors and wooded areas (including urban parks) in many parts of Asia and Europe. Most people infected with TBE do not become seriously ill, but TBE can cause a severe, potentially life-threatening central nervous system illness. TBE vaccine is a private travel vaccine in the United Kingdom (UK) and is recommended for those visiting TBE affected areas, if their activities and/or job put them at increased risk or they will be living in a TBE endemic region.

Prostate cancer screening in asymptomatic men is contentious and there is currently no national screening programme in the UK. Routine asymptomatic prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is often considered ineffective due to its diagnostic limitations and risks of overdiagnosis and subsequent overtreatment. This project undertaken by the author’s trust utilised the Prostate Cancer UK toolkit to engage men in making informed, personalised decisions regarding PSA testing. Men identified as being at elevated risk were contacted by text message and offered information about the risks and benefits of PSA testing, access to a personalised risk checker from Prostate Cancer UK and a direct testing pathway. The approach aimed to support informed decision-making in prostate cancer screening using the PSA blood test.

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.