Primary Care & Health Sciences

Following clinical training at Nottingham University I moved to North Staffordshire in 1999 to complete my general practice vocational training. In 2004 was awarded  an Arthritis Research UK Fellowship to investigate the prognosis of older people with joint pain in primary care (the PROG-RES study) and in 2011 I was awarded an Arthritis Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship to research missed opportunities to improve the management of inflammatory arthropathy in general practice.

I am currently Professor and Director of Academic General Practice. I am also Director of Academic Clinical Training for the Faculty of Health.

My research interests focus on improving the management of common rheumatological complaints in primary care.  In particular I am interested in diagnosis and prognosis of musculoskeletal disorders in a general practice setting.

Early work focussed on the association between painful exposures in childhood and common conditions experienced as a young adult. My Arthritis Research UK funded PhD investigated a generic approach to determining the prognosis of older adults with musculoskeletal pain in general practice (PROG-RES study).

My new programme of work focusses on 'missed opportunities' to improve the management of inflammatory conditions in primary care. Specific projects include using GP consultation to investigate the association between PMR and vascular disease, clinical comorbidity in patients with gout, and vascular screening in patient with rheumatoid arthritis. A new large inception cohort of patients with PMR is being established to establish the course and prognosis of this group in a primary care setting.

I am involved in two large randomised controlled trials. The TATE study is investigating the use of TENS for people with tennis elbow, whilst the POST study is a large cluster randomised trial looking at the effects of screening older consulters with joint pain for anxiety and depression symptoms in the consultation.

I have active research collaborations with the University of Birmingham (Dr Karim Raza - early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis) and University of Essex (Professor Dasgupta - polymyalgia rheumatica) and am a member of the Brisbane Initiative.

My work is funded by Arthritis Research UK, the National Institute for Health research (Research for Patient Benefit, Programme Grant, National School for Primary Care Research) and the North Staffordshire Medical Institute.

I have been awarded three Fellowships by Arthritis Research UK, an RCGP Great Expectations Award and a prize for best patient involvement in research.

With colleagues I have developed the Keele Medical Academic Pathway within the Faculty of Health bringing together the core components of undergraduate and postgraduate clinical academic training. I am lead for the medical student research group and research based intercalation within the Faculty of Health and am Director of the Keele Academic Foundation Programme. I lead the local NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship and Clinical Lecturer schemes and take a national role with general practice recruitment to GP ACF posts.

I am a GP trainer in an advanced training practice, deliver sessions for the vocational training scheme and MMedSci course and am a past course organiser on the North Staffordshire VTS. I mentor undergraduate medical students and am the education link between the Medical School and the Research Institute.

I currently supervise 3 MMedSci dissertatons, 2 MPhil dissertations and 2 PhDs and I am deputy director of postgraduate research.

I am a GP partner at Kingsbridge Medical Practice, Newcastle under Lyme (1 day per week).

I am an editor of the European Journal of General Practice and  review board member for Education for Primary Care.