The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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The importance of multi-agency working to identify, prevent and reduce domestic abuse is widely recognised. Interprofessional learning opportunities can provide a supportive learning environment for multi-agency practitioners to explore and develop collaborative approaches to improve health outcomes for vulnerable children, young people and their families.Participants drawn from Kent GP trainees, student Health Visitors, School Nurses, Midwives, Social Workers, student Teachers and Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), and postgraduate Police Officers attended this sixth annual conference. ⋯ The conference provided a highly valued opportunity for useful interprofessional learning about domestic abuse. Results indicated that it increased participants' knowledge and confidence about their own and others' roles and responsibilities.
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Serious adverse events (SAE) at out-of-hours services in primary care (OHS-PC) are rare. It most often concerns missed acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Root cause analyses highlighted errors in the triage process, but these analyses are hampered by hindsight bias. ⋯ It seems nearly impossible to differentiate missed ACS at the OHS-PC from others with chest discomfort based on symptom presentation.
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Dementia is a global public health challenge, the significant consequences of which are recognised in global and national health policies. Despite approaches to improve the implementation of evidence-based dementia care in primary care and the inclusion of indicators for dementia in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), there is consistent evidence that people with dementia and their family carers lack access to care which meets their needs. ⋯ The research plan for the second stage will be presented.
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Preventative medicine has become a central focus in primary care provision, with greater emphasis on education and access to health care screening. The Department of Health reports existing health inequalities and inequalities in access within ethnic minority groups. Studies assessing the value of community engagement in primary care have reported variable outcomes in term of subsequent service utilisation. ⋯ This study clearly demonstrates the value of targeted community-led screening and education events in public health promotion. There was a significant benefit in providing community-based screening. There is a need for a longitudinal analysis to determine the impact on health outcomes and long-term access to healthcare provision.
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Stroke is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Major advances have occurred in secondary prevention of stroke/transient ischaemic attack (TIA) during the past three decades. Primary care is a critical point of contact with patients in the implementation of secondary prevention, with the majority of patients with past stroke/TIA being managed in the community. ⋯ It was found that both practices implemented the guidelines to a satisfactory degree. However, to further improve secondary prevention outreach, bleeding risk should be assessed using a tool such as S2TOP-BLEED before withholding antithrombotic therapy, as, on balance, antithrombotic therapy may still be preferable. In addition, accurate and detailed documentation of the indications/contraindications to anticoagulation is paramount for such assessment.