Dr Lewis Potter BEM

September is #prostatecancer awareness month. #Prostate #cancer is a disease that kills 1 man every 45 minutes in the UK, a disease without #symptoms in its early, curable stages, and a disease that can affect men from middle age and does not only affect old men. A disease that we need to be proactive about to catch early, with state of the art precision #biopsy and #MRI. A disease that needs to be managed by expert #surgeons #oncologists #pathologists #radiologists and #nurse specialists as part of a multi-disciplinary #team like we have at Cleveland Clinic London And a disease that yes we have a month dedicated to raise awareness for, but that strikes all year round - regardless of whether it’s Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, or Eid. Every day of every month is a day for raising prostate cancer awareness in my book. If you are a man over 40 please check your risk of prostate cancer using the Prostate Cancer UK calculator and go and see your #doctor or #urologist if you’re at risk. Thank you 🙏 to Cleveland Clinic London for the opportunity to share my thoughts on #prostate #cancer and other #urology conditions below 👇

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SHIFTING POWER FROM INSTITUTIONS & ORGANISATIONS TO PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES Annual expenditure on UK healthcare currently sits at just below £300 billion, almost 10% of our gross domestic product. The NHS has a clear mandate to deliver healthcare free at the point of access, but what constitutes the "health" this service is trying to is less obvious to those of us working in it. Is the priority to keep people alive as long as possible (#lifeexpectancy), or to delay the onset of disease and disability (#healthexpectancy)? Given advancements in technology and drug development it is shocking to learn that both life AND health expectancy rates are starting to fall, whilst health inequalities increase. This is against a backdrop of concern about #burnout in health professionals, the carbon footprint of the #NHS and the negative impact of #climatechange on our health and health inequalities. Every government paper talks of the need for a "paradigm shift", and yet there is no articulation of what such a service would look like if we could wave that magic wand and modernise the vast bureaucratic monolith that is the NHS overnight. As we say in the coaching room if you don't know where you are trying to get to then you have absolutely no chance of getting there! Having worked as a GP in the NHS for over two decades it has been revelatory to discover #lifestylemedicine #integrativemedicine and #mindbodymedicine over recent years and integrate this cutting edge science into my NHS consultations. I have realised how much power I was holding when using a conventional approach to healthcare and shifting from a #dramatriangle dynamic to an #empowerment dynamic has prompted feedback such as "I've been waiting for this consultation for years". I was therefore delighted to hear about not for profit movement Heal Scotland, which is on a mission to help educate, inspire, and support people so they can take care of themselves using simple methods and protocols in a way that is accessible, approachable, and fun. I am honoured to be invited to deliver a workshop describing my work as a holistic NHS GP in #Alness and #Invergordon at the Heal Scotland Wild Medicine Festival this weekend in Broadford for which a few day tickets are still available for tomorrow using the link at the bottom of this post. The workshop will intertwine the most powerful concepts from the worlds of psychology and neuroscience with spoken word art telling James Hickson's incredible story of recovery from #PTSD and #addictions, aiming to inspire personal change and share a vision for an NHS that is kinder to people, health professionals and the planet. We hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/eXqQSDf2

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In the advent of the junior doctors' (now resident doctors') pay deal, PLEASE make sure you are speaking to colleagues and ensuring they know about backpay that comes from the deal - especially those colleagues that have changed trusts, or even left England. BELOW 👇 is a table from the BMA advising on the rough backpay that doctors will be owed, which is backdated to April 2023. This is true for ALL types of 'junior doctor' in England during that time, whether those with an NTN, junior/senior clinical Fellows, LEDs - basically anyone on the England Junior Doctor contract OR anyone whose contract mirrors it (such as trust grade SHOs/registrars or locally employed doctors). This is due to be paid in November 2024 (2 months time) from the trust/employer that was employing you at the time. Table can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eKuNFgM2 This backpay comes from the ADDITIONAL 4% that has been agreed with the government on top of previous pay awards from the 2023/4 and 2024/5 cycles - so for every month of employment from April 2023 to August 2024 in a 'junior doctor' post of some kind, you are owed an additional 4% gross (that is pre-tax, pre-loan deductions etc) of your salary (banding/on-call rates etc will still apply). I personally have caught up with several international medical graduate colleagues who did not know this applied to them - and we're talking about many thousands of pounds in potentially lost earnings. It was really important to the BMA RDC leadership that no doctor was left behind - and we need to ensure that's the case. If helpful, I've made an explainer video going through things in more detail: https://lnkd.in/eeT_2TQX #doctors #juniordoctors #residentdoctors

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🌍 New Report Alert: Fixing General Practice in the NHS The British Medical Association has released a new report, Patients First: Why General Practice is Broken & How We Can Fix It, addressing the mounting challenges faced by general practice in the NHS. 📉 It's key findings reveal: - Severe underfunding of GP practices, with 2,000 closures since 2010. - Fewer GPs managing an increased number of patients, resulting in access issues. - The loss of continuity of care, which is vital for patient outcomes. The report outlines immediate, medium, and long-term solutions, including: - Immediate actions to retain GPs and prevent further closures. - A new GP contract that increases funding and supports continuity of care. - A long-term vision for a GP-led, community-focused, preventative healthcare model. This report is a call for bold investment in general practice to ensure patients receive the care they deserve and to secure the future of the NHS. I'm curious to know what my NHS and General Practice based connections think of the report and it's recommendations 🏥 #NHS #GeneralPractice #HealthcareInnovation #PatientCare #GP

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GMC annual training survey Pulse has published a piece reporting on the GMC’s annual training survey, published today. The article states that ‘plans for expanding the medical workforce will fail if the NHS does not prioritise trainer capacity and support, the GMC has warned’. The article focuses on GPs but also states: ‘According to the GMC, these figures show that there are ‘clear signs of strain’ among the medical trainer workforce, which will only intensify as training places increase’. It will need a change in mindset and an adoption of XR and AI approaches to learning. Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery (VRiMS) #virtualtraining #immersivetechnology #training #medicaltraining #digitallearning #augmentedreality #ar #vr #medicaleducation #surgicaltraining #medvr #medxr #exr #globalhealth #exreducation

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From stressed out carer for ageing parents to the Stage at Future Health at BMJ Group, show-casing Myfolks .... by way of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme as part of its very first cohort of patient entrepreneurs. Proud to have shared the good, the bad and the ugly of the innovation journey, because as patients and carers we really feel the pain of what doesn't work well and that leads to a clear view on what can make it better.... For me and Myfolks, that means identifying and fighting social isolation before it leads to risk of serious health conditions, such as stroke (56%) and heart disease (32%) plus diabetes and dementia. The UK's Chief Medical Officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty has said we must take action to limit the length of time our elderly are living in ill health, or the sustainability of the NHS is at risk; the US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has highlighted that social isolation is as dangerous as 15 cigarettes per day or 6 units of alcohol and the UK Minister for Health & Social Care The Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP has called for 3 shifts - from analogue to digital; from hospital to community; and from treatment to prevention. The Myfolks' service sits right at the intersection of these statements, bringing practical and emotional support to elderly people at the press of a button. The Myfolksers who provide our service are enhanced DBS checked and we pay them decently for their time and their compassion. We can support hospital discharge services for those needing a bit of extra help and we are exploring ways to identify those likely to be most at risk of experiencing social isolation. No matter how much money is invested in the NHS, it can never be enough, as innovation will enable more and more people to live into older age. Therefore, we can't keep doing what we have been doing and we can't keep adding more to the budget. Instead, we have to collaborate and work more smartly across all sectors; we need to focus on promoting and maintaining health. I was speaking at a Futures event - but the time for innovation and action is now. Shout out to Prof Tony Young who hosted the session with all of his usual vision and passion, and to my patient entrepreneur buddies Vanessa Funmi Ullam and Olivia Burns - absolute stars. 🌟 💜 #bmjfuturehealth #socialhealth #myfolksltd #yourfolksaremyfolks

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🚀 Transforming complex healthcare decisions into a single button 🚀 Some amazing insights from our previous Evo Inspires episode with Nick Venters, Chief Clinical Information Officer at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust hosted by Emma Howard. What started as complex stakeholder negotiations between privacy advocates and research bodies is now a simple button in your NHS app. Sometimes the simplest solutions require the most thought! Want to share your digital health story? We're always looking for guests for both Evo Inspires and our Evolution Exchange Podcast. Comment "speaker" below and we'll be in touch! 🎤 #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #HealthTech #DataPrivacy  #HealthcareLeadership

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Invoicing in private healthcare practice: recommendations for kickstarting your private practice journey https://lnkd.in/eTKn5kFF An important consideration for practitioners new to private practice is how to let patients know how much they owe you. If you’ve been practising in the NHS for a long time, you won’t be used to invoicing for your work so you may have questions about what to include and how to submit them for insurers and self-payors. This webinar, originally hosted by Independent Doctors Federation shares recommendations for invoicing and other key considerations for kickstarting your private practice journey https://lnkd.in/eTKn5kFF What learnings can you share for kickstarting your private practice? #PrivatePractice #PracticeManagementSolutions #PracticeManagementSoftware #Healthcode #IndependentDoctorsFederation Desné Marston Kingsley Hollis

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With 7.5 million patients on the NHS waiting list, can community care help reduce waiting times? Keir Starmer has outlined a plan to tackle NHS delays by expanding community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs. Here are the key facts: 🏥 Up to 500,000 additional appointments could be delivered annually. 🏥 Plans include expanding community diagnostic centres and surgical hubs to shift treatments out of hospitals and into community-based care. 🏥 Critics raise concerns about resource shortages and the potential for staff burnout, impacting the plan’s success. Why does this matter? While this plan promises faster access, the strain on healthcare workers and resources remains a significant challenge. OptimisHealth is here to help navigate these complexities, connecting patients with trusted specialists for timely care. Let’s take proactive steps to prioritise health in 2025. Learn more and book a call: https://lnkd.in/gEPM3ASm Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gBCvb92h #Healthcare #CommunityCare #PatientCare #OptimisHealth #NHSWaitingTimes

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Three quarters (75%) of the public support sharing some of their personal health data for the development of AI systems in the NHS, according to a survey commissioned by think tank the Health Foundation. Interesting findings. Anything you do these days, you get asked for permission to share the data. This helps organisations understand their customers, and the healthcare sector is no exception. Although some individuals remain sceptical about data privacy, I believe we live in an era when data sharing is becoming more open. DPN Research discovered in 2022 that the younger generation is more likely to feel comfortable sharing their data, which actually makes real sense when you think about it. Back to the NHS, results show that 59% were willing to share data on areas such as their eye health, 58% on medicines they are taking, and 57% on long-term illnesses they live with. However, the percentage of phone-tracked data is lower, reaching 47%. People named the ability to see and talk to NHS staff as their most important consideration about technology use in healthcare, with 39% people aged 65 years and older naming this as their most important consideration. The poll found that around two-thirds of the public have either high or moderate levels of trust in the NHS with their health data. #digitalhealth #artificialintelligence #healthcareinnovation #healthcaretechnology

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At Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we have mapped our data into the OHDSI (Observational Health Data Sciences & Informatics) OMOP Common Data Model (>1.5M patients, >450M measurements, ~18M visits, etc. https://lnkd.in/e9bz_Dqx. 🎞 📷 ) When I first set LTH on this journey, I knew of no one else in the Northwest of England doing this, let alone at this scale and not in the way I wanted this to be done. In less than 12 months, we accomplished quite a bit - including incremental daily refreshes so that our OMOP data is as fresh 🍀 as the midnight before extending the use of OMOP to much more than research uses. At about the same time I decided that we were going to do this, I also discovered dbt Labs's data-build-tool (https://getdbt.com/). This radically changed how we were able to do this as a team and accelerated development. See our ELT documentation here -> https://lnkd.in/evb_yshe. I was fortunate to have an incredibly talented data engineer who was willing to learn dbt and OMOP fast and is now doing a PhD in data engineering! And, Tim Howcroft joined the team as well and is leading on the cancer work. As we look to scale the OMOP transformation work to all of Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) with University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust next, am I wrong to consider swapping dbt for SQLMesh (https://sqlmesh.com/)? One way to find out is to evaluate them. So, I rebuilt the OHDSI Achilles scripts in both dbt (for SQLServer and Databricks) and SQLMesh. They all work (including DataQualityDashboard in dbt for Databricks). dbt_achilles: https://lnkd.in/ePHjw-Xs sqlmesh_achilles: https://lnkd.in/eDHY5sxE dbt has been phenomenal so far 🚀 but with our OMOP data in Databricks and as the complexity and scale of ELT grows, SQLMesh promises certain advantages over dbt. We have spent a year getting good at using dbt and wonder if SQLMesh's approach is superior enough to pivot for our use case. This will be an important decision in the coming weeks - one that will have ramifications for how we operate as a team 🤼 , our ability to scale as well as manage our cloud consumption costs. 💰 I would welcome thoughts from anyone here 🙏 .

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New Webinar Alert!! 🔊🔊🔊🔊🔊 The NHS is in crisis, overwhelmed by an aging population. To survive and thrive, health services need to reform. Preventative care interventions could add 20 healthy days per person annually. Register for this webinar to discover how digital innovation and proactive health measures can transform patient care and reduce the strain on GP practices. What can you expect to hear in this quick-fire session? 1) How pharmaceutical professionals can contribute to reducing NHS strain through innovative preventative care solutions. 2) The Digital tools support your preventative care efforts.  3) How to implement preventative care strategies in collaboration with healthcare providers Register now - https://lnkd.in/eXemiAZ3 ⏲️ 29th October at 3pm London | 10AM New York EMIS

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Despite technological advancements in the healthcare system, accessibility to treatments and appointments in the NHS continues to remain a challenge for many patients. Limited availability of appointments, long waiting times, and complicated booking processes are some of the main challenges faced by patients. These issues not only cause inconvenience but can also have serious consequences on patient health if they are unable to receive timely treatment. To ensure that all patients have equal access to quality care, further investments and improvements in the use of technology, as well as addressing underlying issues such as staffing shortages and funding constraints, are required. Addressing the issue of accessibility is crucial to realizing the full potential of technology in the NHS and truly benefiting patients. Although Turners Occupational Health and Well-being Services cannot change the NHS they can help employees who have not been able to access the appropriate treatment by signposting them to relevant support and in some cases assist with arranging appointments. We can also provide mini health MOTs which may identify health issues early. #minihealthmot #health #NHS #occupationalhealth #employees #sicknessabsence https://lnkd.in/ddvhFMMC

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Timely report on the impact of surgical hubs

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Missed our panel discussion this week where NHS consultants discussed their 'Top 10 learnings from clinical validation'? Don't worry; we've made the recording available for you to watch on demand. Through our work with more than 20 hospitals covering over 70,000 referrals, we’ve seen that consultant-led clinical validation and prioritisation returns 30% of patients to their GPs with management plans and up to 50% in some specialties, like neurology. We have gained insights into pathway efficiencies and opportunities that NHS consultants shared in our panel discussion earlier this week. You can catch up on the recording below: #ClinicalValidation #ReferralTriage #NHSLeaders #ElectiveRecovery

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Launching a new treatment or innovation in the NHS? If you're unsure where to begin when engaging NHS decision-makers, check out this clip from our webinar with Dr Faris Al-Ramadani (Former PCN Clinical Director and GP Partner in the NHS, and HealthTech and Venture Capital Consultant), where he offers his expert advice on who to approach across GPs, PCNs, and ICBs. Watch the full webinar (first recorded in July 2024) at: https://lnkd.in/e4YuUNJb #NHSWhispers #medtech #medicaldevices #pharma #medtech #healthtech

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We're absolutely delighted to share the success of our 12-week collaboration with Floki Health and Hartree Centre SME Hubs. Together, we developed an interactive enhancement to our platform that visualizes and optimizes the distribution of hospital equipment, significantly improving efficiency and resource management. This will not only save the NHS time and money but also ensure that medical facilities are better equipped to provide timely and effective patient care. 👍 🎯 Outcomes from the project: - Enhanced patient care - Better asset management - Enhancements to our platform and its accessibility - Valuable insights for future projects The project showcases the power of collaboration in achieving actionable insights and innovative solutions, something of a mantra for us here. We're proud to have worked with Hartree Centre in driving positive change in the healthcare industry via this improvement to our platform. We utilized advanced data analytics and visualization techniques to identify inefficiencies in equipment distribution. By optimizing the allocation of resources, we are able to not only improve patient care but also reduce costs for hospitals. This is a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved - patients receive better care and hospitals save money. This project is just the beginning. The valuable insights gained from this collaboration will guide future projects and help us to help the NHS further improve healthcare delivery. Stay tuned for more updates on our future collaborations, we have some very exciting developments in the pipeline. We highly recommend participating in a collaboration project like this and Hartree Centre SME Hubs next round of open calls for their Collaborative Data Projects opens next Tuesday so get in there. 🗓️ Open call live from Tuesday 9th of July to Tuesday 30th of July. To finish, we just want to say thanks so much to Fergus McClean, Georgia Carr, Natasha Bowers, Stephen Dowsland, Jordan Connolly, Peter Michalák, Sunderland Software City, National Innovation Centre for Data, Newcastle University and the rest of the team. It really was a fantastic experience. Here's a link to a short video about our successful partnership, we'd love you to take a watch... https://lnkd.in/eis_rHW6 #healthcare #collaboration #innovation #datascience #visualization #NHS

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Lord Darzi’s report on the 🇬🇧NHS provides insights into negative patient outcomes, including death, that result when system funding increases are chronically paused or inadequate (🇦🇺: Medicare rebates) and when healthcare targets are chronically not met. The NHS experience shows us the dangers of ⚕️chronic healthcare underfunding ⚕️long waits, especially in emergency departments ⚕️healthcare workforce shortages, and ⚕️broken systems. https://lnkd.in/g9dQTsed Key points: 💊“The report says “long waits have become normalised” and “A&E is in an awful state”, with long waits likely to be causing an additional 14,000 more deaths a year, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.” 💊“Patients no longer flow through hospitals as they should,” writes Lord Darzi. He says that a lack of funds means hospitals are unable to be productive” 💊“This broken system has not reduced the workload for staff, he says, rather it “crushes” their enjoyment of work.” 💊”Factors affecting health, such as poor quality housing, low income and insecure employment, “have moved in the wrong direction over the past 15 years”, writes Lord Darzi. “With the result that the NHS has faced rising demand for healthcare from a society in distress”.“ Like the NHS, it seems the Victorian public health system is heading for reform. Like the NHS, Australia must not continue along the path of inadequate Medicare rebates, broken systems and failure to meet emergency department targets, as if we do it is patients who will suffer.

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Exciting Breakthrough in Hip Replacement Surgery at WMG, University of Warwick Researchers from WMG, University of Warwick, in collaboration with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and the Corin Group, have pioneered a technology that customises hip replacements to fit each patient's unique movement patterns. Traditionally, hip replacements are designed based on a 'normal' hip, often neglecting individual variations. The innovative approach uses advanced computer simulations based on CT scans to predict specific hip movements. This allows surgeons to place implants with unprecedented precision, tailored to each patient's needs. Key Benefits: Improved success rates for surgeries Reduced risk of post-surgery complications Minimised chances of needing revision surgery Dr Arnab Palit, lead researcher at WMG, University of Warwick, states, "By using computer simulations based on a patient’s hip shape from CT scans, we can predict certain hip movements accurately. This customisation leads to better outcomes." With over 100,000 hip replacements performed annually in the UK due to arthritis, this breakthrough could significantly enhance patient care. We are on the cusp of a new era in orthopaedic surgery, where personalised medicine leads the way to better health outcomes. Want to know more please reach out. WMG, University of Warwick Arnab Palit Dyrr Ardash Helen Lyman Smith Oliver Walmsley Rachael Kirwan Kerry Kirwan Anthony Avery Penny Triantafillou James Dayus #HealthcareInnovation #Orthopedics #PersonalizedMedicine #HipReplacement #MedicalResearch #PatientCare #SurgicalSuccess #WMG

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