It is estimated that there are almost 3.5 million people living with cancer in the UK and on average someone is diagnosed with cancer at least every 75 seconds (UK). 

In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Professor Willie Hamilton, a Professor of Primary Care Cancer Research about the updates to cancer detection in primary care. 

They reflect on why primary care is so important in this area, the changing epidemiology in cancer and cancer in younger people including the increase in colorectal cancer. They discuss the changes in cancer screening e.g. cervical cancer (introduction of home screening) and bowel cancer (age reduction and Faecal immunochemical test (FIT) thresholds), Positive Predictive Value (PPV), symptomatic presentations, difficult to diagnose cancers and atypical presentations. They also offer top tips for everyday practice and signpost to useful resources.

References

• Best4: Screening for oesophageal health problems
• NHS Galleri Trail: Detecting cancer early
• Jess’s Rule: Three strikes and we rethink
• ERICA Study. Prof. Willie Hamilton
• Save T, Neal R D, Round T. A multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test: clinical update for GPs. British Journal of General Practice 2024; 74 (745): 380-382. 
• Wiering B, Mounce LTA, Price SJ, et al. The impact of morbidity burden on cancer diagnosis; a retrospective cohort study in England. Cancer Epidemiol. 2026 Feb 27;102:103027. 

Further reading
RCGP eLearning courses on:

• Behaviour change and cancer prevention
• Bloating and Other Abdominal Symptoms: Could it be Ovarian Cancer?
• Breast Cancer Screening - The Essentials
• Cancer detection in primary care
• Colorectal Cancer
• Early diagnosis of cancer in young adults
• Lung Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer: Early Diagnosis in General Practice
• Primary cancer care toolkit
• Prostate Cancer: Early Diagnosis in General Practice
• Cancer care | One Day Essentials | REWIND (available until 26.05.26)

RCGP Podcast Feedback
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Respiratory disease, including infections, affects one in five people in England and is the third biggest cause of death, with around 68,000 annual deaths.

In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Professor Paul Little, a GP and Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Southampton about respiratory tract infections. They provide a discussion on the common presentations to primary care including symptoms and their duration, natural history, assessment (triage), red flags, treatment including best practice for the use of antibiotics (NNT and NNH, TARGET toolkit), point of care testing (CRP), the use of nasal sprays, encouraging at risk groups to receive vaccinations, continuation of hand washing, and the impact of stress on illness. They also offer top tips for everyday practice.

Further reading:

• RCGP Essential Knowledge Update Hot Topic: Nasal sprays and behavioural interventions compared with usual care for acute respiratory illness in primary care
• RCGP TARGET antibiotics toolkit hub
• Little P, Vennik J, Rumsby K, et al. Nasal sprays and behavioural interventions compared with usual care for acute respiratory illness in primary care: a randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2024 Aug;12(8):619-632. 
• Little P, Stuart B, Andreou P, et al. Primary care randomised controlled trial of a tailored interactive website for the self-management of respiratory infections (Internet Doctor). BMJ Open. 2016 Apr 20;6(4): e009769.

RCGP Podcast Feedback
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 1 in 20 people in the UK, equating to around 3.2 million individuals, though some estimates suggest up to 1 in 5 adults experience symptoms, with potentially even more not seeking medical help. It's a common digestive disorder, more prevalent in women, often starting in the 20s or 30s.

In this podcast Dr Thomas Round speaks to Dr Kevin Barrett, a GP in Hertfordshire with a special interest in gastroenterology in primary care, about the prevalence, symptoms, diagnostic criteria, treatment and management of IBS and offers top tips for primary care practice!

For more information please see:

• RCGP eLearning course on Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• RCGP eLearning course on Holistic care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease
• RCGP eLearning course on the Diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities
• RCGP Essential Knowledge Update module on the Management of irritable bowel syndrome
• RCGP Essential Knowledge Update module on the Management of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

RCGP Podcast Feedback
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Primary care consultations can be challenging for a number of reasons. In this podcast, Dr. Ed Pooley discusses the key skill of relationship building within general practice and how this can be achieved with a variety of consultation techniques. He addresses issues of raised emotions within consultations, how to recover a consultation which is going badly, and the key skill of housekeeping as it refers to GP consultations. The podcast also discusses how consultation skills might change over the course of a career and the importance of recognising issues which can or can’t be resolved within general practice.

RCGP Podcast Feedback
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is estimated to affect 1 in 5 children and 1 in 10 adults in the UK, making it one of the most prevalent skin conditions experienced across all age groups. It is the leading cause of skin-related disability in the UK and there has been an increased prevalence of eczema in the last 10 years.

In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Khyati Bakhai, a GP in North East London about eczema. They discuss the definition of eczema, as well as the presentation, symptoms, risk factors including family history and other allergies, discussions during consultation, treatments such as emollients, protopics and steroid creams, assessing for infection, referral to secondary care when needed, management of flare ups and shared decision making with patients for ongoing management.

For more information please see:

• RCGP eLearning course on Atopic Eczema
• RCGP eLearning Hub on Atopic Dermatitis
• RCGP Essential Knowledge Update module on Atopic eczema in under 12s & Venous eczema and chronic venous disease
• RCGP podcast on Dermatology Podcast: Skin of Colour

RCGP Podcast Feedback 
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

In 2020 the NHS became the world’s first health system to commit to reaching Net Zero and take action to reduce the future impacts of climate change. 

Take a walk through London to the Story Garden with Dr Toni Hazell, Deputy Medical Director for eLearning and Dr Liliana Risi, provost and past chair of the RCGP North East London Faculty, a past NHS GP in Tower Hamlets and Associate of Greener Practice to learn more about the topic of Net Zero.

In this podcast we discuss climate health equity, the environmental benefits of social prescribing and preventing illness plant-based diet, all of which are covered within our three recently released eLearning courses, as well as Greener Practice, Singing for breathing and Clean air champions.

RCGP Net Zero Hub

RCGP eLearning modules on:

• Climate health equity
• The environmental benefits of social prescribing
• Preventing illness: plant-based diet

The Story Garden

Correction: Green social prescribing can save the NHS more than £600 million per year.

RCGP Podcast Feedback
Your feedback plays a crucial role in helping us improve the CPD products and services we offer. We would be grateful if you could please complete our short RCGP Podcast Survey, which will take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is estimated to affect up to 1 in 5 people in the UK. Rates are increasing with rising levels of obesity. Although most cases of MASLD are linked to excess weight, you can develop the disease if you have a healthy weight.

In this podcast, Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Helen Jarvis, a GP and Clinical lecturer and researcher at Newcastle University with an interest in liver disease about fatty liver disease in primary care. 

• RCGP. EKU Module on Diagnosis and management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. May 2024.
• RCGP. Liver Toolkit. June 2025
• BSG. BSG Guidelines on the management of abnormal liver blood tests. December 2021.
• NICE. NG49. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): assessment and management. July 2016 (last reviewed October 2024).

In this podcast, Dr. Liz Angier discusses the GPwER role in allergy and how this would ideally be integrated into the local allergy team, improving service provision for patients. The podcast covers theory training as well as how to gain practical experience, including the ways in which the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology can help to link potential GPwERs with clinical experience. The podcast also covers some wider issues including the need for education in schools and in the food industry. Those who would like to know more about the GPwER role should visit the GPwER page of the RCGP website and click on the allergy framework, or email [email protected].

An educational grant was received from British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) for the production of the podcast. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Adenomyosis affects around 10% of women in the UK and is most prevalent in women aged 40-50, particularly those who have had pregnancies. It is frequently found alongside endometriosis and uterine fibroids and can cause heavy, painful, or irregular periods.

In this podcast Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Sharon Dixon, a GP in Oxford with a background in endometriosis research and supporting GPs with female patients suffering with endometriosis and their periods, about the symptoms, initial assessment, diagnosis and treatment of adenomyosis as well as its possible causes and overlap with endometriosis.

This podcast falls within the Gynaecology and Breast curriculum field.

• British Journal of General Practice article on Uterine adenomyosis: an update for GPs
• RCGP EKU Programme module on Endometriosis: diagnosis and management
• RCGP eLearning course on Endometriosis
• RCGP eLearning course on Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

In this 20 minute podcast, Dr Emma Nash speaks to Dr Sally Higginbottom about adverse effects of antipsychotic medication, with a focus on movement disorders and strategies to detect them early in routine practice.

Funding for this podcast was received from Teva Pharmaceuticals. Teva Pharmaceuticals reviewed the content for scientific accuracy and full editorial control remains the sole responsibility of the RCGP.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death, with an estimated 18 million deaths each year (over 30% of all global deaths). In 2022, around 175,000 people in the UK died from CVD, accounting for about 27% of all deaths — the second most common cause of death after dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

In this podcast, Dr Thomas Round talks to Dr Nicholas Jones, a salaried GP in Oxford with a special interest in cardiology, about primary risk assessment and lipid management in cardiovascular disease.

This podcast falls within the Cardiovascular Health curriculum field.

EKU Programme module on Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment, reduction & lipid modification.

British Journal of General Practice article on Cardiovascular disease — risk assessment and reduction: NICE 2023 update for GPs.