Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs

The new episode of Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is now live and available on all podcast platforms.
In this month’s episode, our team unpicks the new guidance from NICE, recommending use of weight loss drug semaglutide (Wegovy) to prevent further heart attack and stroke.
Pulse editorial adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft is joined by Professor Ahmet Fuat, honorary professor of primary care cardiology at Durham University and GP with extended role in cardiorenal medicine.
The pair discuss the evidence base behind the recommendation, what the rollout might look like, who is eligible, who will be responsible for managing care including lifestyle support, and how it fits in with existing NICE guidance on treating patients with type 2 diabetes.
Professor Fuat also considers whether semaglutide has the potential to go to be used for primary prevention in future.
We round up our episode with editor Sofia Lind discussing where general practice stands following a referendum on the 2026/27 GP contract, in which 98.9% rejected the Government’s imposed changes.
She tells senior journalist Maya Dhillon about ‘the difficult position’ she believes the GPC is in, as it has threatened collective action by 30 April (unless the Government pauses its implementation of ‘mandatory’ A&G) while the Government has said this may mean missing out on a primary negotiation role in new GMS contract discussions.
For more information about how to attend the Community Pharmacy and General Practice Conference, click here. 
Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.

Senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by Anna Colivicchi, deputy news editor, and Dr Keith Hopcroft, GP and editorial adviser, to analyse and explain the changes introduced by the 2026/27 GP contract.
The trio go through all the major headlines - including new same-day requirements around ‘clinically urgent patients', a shift in funding for a new practice-level recruitment scheme, and mandated collaboration between practices and ICBs.
Anna and Keith discuss the absorption of advice and guidance (A&G) from an enhanced service into the core contract, contemplating how this 'blurs' the line between GP and specialist remit; and how this will work in practice.
The discussion comes as NHS England's national director for primary care Dr Amanda Doyle wrote exclusively for Pulse last week, explaining their rationale for the move.
Keith also provides a handy overview of the changes to QOF, including the addition of two new obesity indicators and the provision of 'improvement incentives' for childhood vaccination rates.
Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.

Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.

In our first 'Big Interview' of the year, Pulse editor Sofia Lind speaks to the new chair of the RCGP, Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, to discuss the role of the college in a particularly tumultuous time for the profession.
The pair discuss the RCGP's position and approach to new-look GP contract consultations - in which the college is now involved alongside other stakeholders, as revealed exclusively by Pulse last year.
Professor Tzortziou Brown reflects on how the contract needs to change; relations with the BMA; as well as advising the Government on its new workforce strategy - with a focus on retaining experienced GPs.
She also shares her thoughts on how GPs need to be kept at the centre of the implementation of neighbourhood services as the 10-year plan is rolled out, as well as how access and continuity in general practice are not mutually exclusive.
For this month's clinical section, senior journalist Maya Dhillon is joined by Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft to look over a new report suggesting that mandatory NT-proBNP testing before heart failure referral would improve diagnosis of the condition in primary care.
Their discussion focus on a much-debated report published by The Alliance for Heart Failure, which suggests that the condition is routinely being missed in primary care, and that GP practices and CDCs are not following 2010 NICE guidelines requiring the use of NT-proBNP testing to rule out heart failure.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.
Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.

Pulse editor Sofia Lind and senior journalist Maya Dhillon reflect on the recent breakdown in the relationship between the BMA and the Government following months of growing animosity between the two.
Following Pulse's exclusive reporting on the BMA losing its exclusive negotiating position for the 2026/27 GP contract, the pair look at we got to this point, and what the new stakeholder consultation model could mean for the profession.
Sofia is then joined by GP and Pulse clinical adviser Dr Keith Hopcroft to discuss whether GPs should really have a lower threshold for prescribing antibiotics in older people. This comes following the publication of England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty's annual report - this year into infectious diseases.
And to round things off, Maya and Sofia check in with general practice in Northern Ireland following their visit to Pulse LIVE Belfast last month - with clips featuring RCGP NI chair Dr Ursula Mason; and the GMC's chair and chief executive Dame Carrie McEwen and Charlie Massey.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.
Pulse in Focus: The Podcast for GPs is hosted on Buzzsprout but you can find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Free registration for Pulse newsletters here.
This episode was produced by Maya Dhillon and Mollie Fraser-Andrews.