Had intended to be in London but lots of cancelled trains and I had to be back in Glasgow at the weekend. So attended remotely, it’s never quite the same.

As ever I try never to repeat points someone else has made. It’s enough I think to say you agree and move on. Otherwise it wastes time and is more to do with ego than efficiency.

Covid review:

I asked that the RCGP formally ask for pandemic planning to include the need to test non drug interventions. We have missed numerous opportunities to do so. Lateral flow testing has been the biggest screening endeavour in history, a total mess in practice, when we could have got really useful info on how best to use/not to use this type of intervention; then there are masks esp in schools.

Also on the nature of enquiries: my concern is why we don’t ever seem to learn from enquiries; what is the evidence that enquiries ever help us do better? (This is also relevant to the Infected Blood Enquiry that I am involved in.) Are there better ways (and I think that we need to understand what we need, and then build a system that is resilient enough to take care of the people under its’ umbrella and endures past peoples’ short term memories).

Overdiagnosis: many people mentioned how we can change future work to take account of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. I asked why the RCGP aren’t taking an active stand re screening for AF. Population screening has been happening at mass immunisation centres, supported by charities, on a background of AHSN ‘innovation’, again contrary to the NHS own guidance. I have asked for a formal response to this as it wasn’t specifically addressed in answer. We need far better evidence on what is best for chronic disease management as well. Why a years review? Do we really need to do whatever bloods annually if things haven’t changed? etc. There is opportunity to try and get this much more honed so that resources address needs and don’t create inadvertent burdens.

Finally I asked that we make more effort to work with our patient groups to develop an ambition to describe what good GP can realistically look like given what the government has done to it over the years and what pressures covid has placed. And big up to the fantastic locums who have worked so hard and flexibly to keep practices afloat.