What Changed This Week

From the GPAtlas Spotlight

Endometriosis and fibroid tablets: NICE-driven prescriptions soar

New NICE-recommended tablets for endometriosis and fibroids are driving rapid prescription increases, enabling patients to work more effectively.

Read the topic: Endometriosis in The Ocean

Spring 2027 COVID-19 vaccination: JCVI advice confirmed

Government confirms JCVI recommendations for spring 2027 COVID-19 vaccination eligibility. GPs should identify eligible patients and plan delivery.

Read the topic: COVID-19 (Acute and Long COVID) in The Ocean

Lercanidipine 10mg: packaging mix-up with incorrect strength

Accord-UK Ltd recalling one batch due to packaging error with wrong strength. Check prescriptions for affected batch immediately.

Read the topic: Hypertension (HTN) in The Ocean

Heart failure: home-based nurse support improves self-care

Randomised trial showed 12-week nurse-led home visits improved self-care, quality of life and self-efficacy in heart failure patients.

Read the topic: Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) in The Ocean

In case you missed it: the podcast

Knee osteoarthritis: before anyone talks about a new knee

The case. Linda, aged 68, has aching, stiff knees and asks for an X-ray and a referral.

Three things for Monday

1. Aged 45 and over, pain on activity, morning stiffness up to 30 minutes: diagnose without an X-ray.
2. Offer exercise to everyone, before and alongside any medicine, with weight loss if overweight.
3. Examine the hip. Refer for replacement when symptoms substantially affect quality of life despite non-surgical treatment.

MHRA safety

#MedSafetyWeek (2 to 8 November 2026): Don't ignore suspected side effects, report them! Updates to the Yellow Card website and app

The annual #MedSafetyWeek campaign is taking place from 2 to 8 November 2026 to promote the importance of reporting side effects from medicines and medical device incidents. This year's theme is...

The journals

BJGP Open: Exploring the mechanisms driving the award gap between international and UK medical graduates in general practice training: a realist review protocol.

Realist review protocol examining mechanisms and contextual factors driving award gaps between international and UK medical graduates in general practice training; findings pending.

BMC Primary Care: Growing Proficiency in Tic Disorder Care and Skills (GP-TiCS): a thematic analysis of patient and professional group experiences in primary care for primary tic disorders.

UK qualitative study on primary care for tics finds limited education and NICE guideline gaps combined with overwhelming workload create barriers to effective support for 300,000+ residents with tic disorders.

BMC Primary Care: The Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programme in Irish general practice: patient and provider views.

Irish chronic disease management programme reports 97% patient satisfaction, 93% provider satisfaction and improved type 2 diabetes management in general practice.

BMC Primary Care: Impact of multiprofessional collaboration in primary care practices on continuity of care: a scoping review.

Scoping review of 21 studies from 2010 onwards finds multiprofessional primary care may reduce relational continuity but appears to preserve informational and management continuity.

BMC Primary Care: The use of the Spanish Healthcare Services: a comparison between people with and without pain.

Spanish cross-sectional survey of 7,058 adults finds chronic and non-chronic pain patients use healthcare approximately twofold more than pain-free populations; quality of life protects against healthcare visits.

Topic of the week

Eating Disorders in The Ocean, and its one-page summary in The Scope.

Earlier editions

• What Changed This Week, 26 October 2026
• What Changed This Week, 19 October 2026
• What Changed This Week, 7 September 2026

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