
Gemma Lambert
Contact info
- Email:
- gemma.lambert@mgp.co.uk
- Editorial
A personal reason to read a guideline
This month, I’d like to start my editorial with some exciting personal news—I’m having a baby. By the time this issue lands on desks, I will have reached that important 37-week milestone and will be on leave and preparing for the baby’s arrival. I hope to find time to read ...
- Editorial
Uncovering the hidden impacts of COVID-19
It’s crazy to think that a whole year has passed since the UK went into its first lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the early stages of the pandemic, medical efforts were focused on treating the acute viral infection and accompanying severe respiratory disease. Methods for treating the ...
- Editorial
How do you keep up to date with your learning?
Learning is something we do both actively, through dedicated studying and reflection, and subconsciously, through day-to-day experiences and encountering new challenges.
- Editorial
COVID-19 in 2021: where are we now?
Despite high hopes, 2021 has not got off to the best start. The new, more transmissible variant of COVID-19 has pushed the UK back into lockdown.
- Editorial
2020: what a year it has been
There is no denying that 2020 has been an unusual year. Across professional and personal lives, plans have had to be changed or cancelled—the features list I developed for 2020 at the end of last year was turned on its head as guideline after guideline was delayed, and our focus ...
- Editorial
How do you manage routine care alongside COVID-19?
Primary care currently has the challenging task of continuing to deliver quality care in all areas, while also manging coronavirus infection risk and adapting to new processes. This issue of Guidelines in Practice includes two articles that focus on clinical guidelines, and two articles that look at the impact of ...
- Editorial
Guidance, guidance, guidance
Here at MGP, guidance is our bread and butter. Through our publications, we aim to disseminate up-to-date information about all the latest clinical guidance to support healthcare professionals with the implementation of best practice. Our flagship event, Guidelines Live, provides healthcare professionals with the opportunity to learn about the latest ...
- Editorial
Unlocking the diagnosis? Clinical history is the key
Healthcare professionals have many tools in their arsenal to support diagnosis, but there are few things more important than taking a thorough and accurate history from the patient. Two of the articles in this month’s issue of Guidelines in Practice make reference to the same aphorism: ‘A careful history will ...
- Editorial
Understanding the wider implications of COVID-19
COVID-19 has already caused significant disruption to healthcare so far this year and the wider implications are likely to continue for months (and probably, years) to come. Those working in primary care will be at the forefront of dealing with some of the issues. The mental health of both patients ...
- Editorial
Redefining normal: what lies beyond COVID-19?
Over the last few months, healthcare has been well and truly disrupted. Screening, routine services, and non‑urgent procedures have been put on hold. However, as more is learnt about the virus, and restrictions are eased or adapted, people are starting to look ahead and consider what will be different in ...
- Editorial
Is COVID-19 a catalyst for change?
When baseline workload is high it is difficult to proactively take steps to move forwards—something that no doubt many healthcare professionals are familiar with. But certain situations can act as catalysts, increasing the rate at which change takes place. Coronavirus means that we are doing things differently through necessity; to ...
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Our NHS: now is the time to show our appreciation
The impacts of COVID-19 are immeasurable and have affected almost every aspect of day-to-day life—yet just a few months ago it didn’t even exist. At MGP, we are all working remotely—putting this issue of Guidelines in Practice together has presented us with new challenges but the team has responded brilliantly. ...
- Editorial
How do you support patients to self-manage chronic conditions?
On Wednesday 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 could be characterised as a pandemic. People with certain underlying health conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and are among those advised to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures.1 Patients are being ...
- Editorial
Infection: is it a question of control?
Coronavirus disease 2019, otherwise known as COVID-19, has been a hot topic for the start of 2020. How worried should we be? Are we currently living the opening chapters of a dystopian novel, or is this mainstream media hype? At the time of writing, Public Health England (PHE) reported 71,329 ...
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What does it mean to be a specialist generalist?
A career in general practice is a demanding one and the skills and attributes required are many and varied. GPs need to demonstrate empathy, compassion, and the ability to motivate others; they need to have good consultation skills, decision-making skills (what tests/examinations are required? Should the patient be referred?), analytical ...
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What has happened in 2019, and what is in store for 2020?
Around this time of year it feels appropriate to stop and think about all that has been achieved over the last 12 months. As always, our priority has been covering new and updated clinical guidance, focusing on the aspects that are relevant to primary care. Throughout 2019, we have examined ...
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Do you use algorithms to support your decision making?
I am not ashamed to say that I love algorithms. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well an algorithm must be worth at least that.
- Editorial
Use teachable moments to motivate smokers to quit
Stoptober is an annual campaign aimed at helping people with their efforts to give up smoking. Support is available in many forms: smokers who are trying to quit can download the Stoptober app, sign up for daily motivational emails, join an online chat group, get a personalised quit plan, or ...
- Editorial
Sharing is caring
There are many diseases and conditions for which care is shared across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare providers, sometimes through formal shared-care arrangements or via ad-hoc referral of patients as and when needed. In these instances, communication and collaboration are paramount to achieving the best outcomes for patients. This need ...