Red Whale Primary Care Pod
Welcome to the Primary Care Pod from Red Whale – join GPs Nik Kendrew and guests as each month they discuss a roundup of four key topics for primary care clinicians, which can also be found in our popular free Pearls.
We look at the evidence, the guidelines and the media coverage and make learning together as a primary care community as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. We invite you to nominate your primary care heroes and share your best intentions stories. So, grab a cuppa or put on your trainers and head out for some fresh air whilst you enjoy this month’s podcast.
We'd love to hear your feedback by email - podcast@redwhale.co.uk or leave us a voice message - https://www.speakpipe.com/RedWhalePrimaryCarePod
Red Whale Primary Care Pod
Suicide risk assessment in primary care: what helps when checklists don’t
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
This episode tackles one of the most difficult consultations we face in primary care: supporting someone who may be thinking about suicide.
Nik and Lee explore how to ask clear, compassionate questions; understand thoughts, plans and intent without relying on tick-box risk scores; and respond with safety planning, appropriate referral and proactive follow-up.
Using A Man Called Otto to illuminate the person behind the presentation, they also consider how risk and protective factors can change, the value of asking “How are you, really?”, and the emotional impact of suicide on clinicians.
Press play for a practical conversation designed to help you feel more confident when your words, curiosity and willingness to listen really matter.
Useful Links
Useful resources for professionals:
- RCPsych - If a patient dies by suicide: a resource for mental health professionals
- NHS Practitioner Health
Useful resources for patients:
- Samaritans (24h confidential helpline. Tel: 116 123. Email: jo@samaritans.org)
- The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) (an organisation dedicated to preventing male suicide. Tel: 0800 58 58 58)
- Staying Safe from suicidal thoughts (printable electronic safety plan template)
- distrACT (information and advice on how to manage difficult feelings, cope with a crisis and find help and support when you need it most)
Send us your feedback podcast@redwhale.co.uk or send a voice message
Sign up to receive Pearls here. Pearls are available for 3 months from publish date. After this, you can get access them plus 100s more articles when you buy a one-day online course from Red Whale OR sign up to Red Whale Unlimited. Find out more here.
Follow us: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
Disclaimer: We make every effort to ensure the information in this podcast is accurate and correct at the date of publication, but it is of necessity of a brief and general nature, and this should not replace your own good clinical judgement, or be regarded as a substitute for taking professional advice in appropriate circumstances. In particular, check drug doses, side-effects and interactions with the British National Formulary. Save insofar as any such liability cannot be excluded at law, we do not accept any liability for loss of any type caused by reliance on the information in this podcast.