Siân Williams
Siân is Chief Executive Officer at the International Primary Care Respiratory Group, a clinically-led charity working locally and collaborating globally to improve respiratory health in primary care.
Location London, UK
Activity
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Hi Alan. There was more enthusiasm in the room than this. We heard from Tamsin Ellis, UK GP; Javiera Corbalan, GP in Chile, and Evelyn Brakema, Netherlands, with practical examples that they were keen to share. However, what about this group? Do others have experience or views to share? To put it another way, do you think it a realistic role of HCPs to...
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Good question. At our recent conference in Malaga, there was a growing consensus that primary care clinicians have three roles: clinicians first and foremost who can integrate climate change, help to quit smoking and air quality into their consultations; role modelling "green your practice" and thirdly an advocacy role framing climate change and poor air...
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Thank you Susan. It would be good to hear others' reflections on this bigger picture. Even in higher income settings, problems of access to affordable medicines can remain. For example, in the UK, there is patchy availability of smoking cessation medication and some people in England have to pay for their asthma inhalers but not people in Wales, Scotland...
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That's an interesting reflection on the talk which was talking about all the building blocks needed to achieve care of the whole person. Information is part of it - but what do you think about the other dimensions such as the environment, access to medicines, workforce competence and motivation, governance, finance, and leadership as well as personal factors? ...
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Siân Williams made a comment
Hello all - I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences in relation to the material we've prepared. Mandy - I spent a lovely week on North Uist, Outer Hebrides, this August, I'm very curious about what we can learn about helping people move from peat fires to cleaner energy sources, particularly as fuel prices rise. We've been working with...
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Thanks for your comments. Yes, community health workers (the generic name for unqualified community-based volunteers delivering health information and advice) are a potential resource. A number of studies are looking at their role in delivering respiratory care at the moment. The challenge is that there is a limited pool of people with sufficient general...
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Siân Williams made a comment
Thank you for your positive comments. I hope it anchors your thoughts about the different interconnected parts of health systems abs helps you think about your context. How do you think you might influence each of them in your setting to benefit your own respiratory health or the health of the community? Where would you start?
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Siân Williams replied to Daniel Munday
Thank you! Yes, we are running the course twice more this year for free. We are looking at May and October/November. We welcome all ideas about how to share it with colleagues.
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Thanks for that insight. Yes, we suspect it is not seen as a serious issue because it hasn't been counted or researched in the same way as cigarette smoking. It also used by many young women.
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I think that these comments relate to finance, leadership and governance which is one of the main fishbones. Yes, good governance is critical and we see during COVID-19 some excellent examples of it eg New Zealand and Taiwan. Where the government is accountable to its citizens, we all have a role in advocating for good respiratory health For example:...
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Sorry - it's week 4
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Hello Dan - I think we met years ago! In week 5 (please check) we talk to Anna Spathis and colleagues from Malaysia and Bangladesh about this. It would be great to get your views.
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May I ask what experience anyone has in terms of waterpipe smoking (and also chewing smokeless tobacco) and whether you think this needs the same strategies, or different ones? There is less evidence in this field, as the paper states. Do you think the public has the same view of these compared to cigarette smoking? Does regulation in your country cover...
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Siân Williams made a comment
Thanks for the interesting discussion which I think highlights that things are interconnected in every system. Yes, ACCESS to the right inhaled medicines is crucial in asthma. However, even where access is straightforward, there can be problems of overuse and underuse. For example, a common problem is overuse of symptom relief, and underuse of...
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Siân Williams made a comment
In your setting, what might be the big fishbone other than health services workforce and services you feel most energetic about improving?
Where do you feel most able to make a difference? What might you do?
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Siân Williams made a comment
Thanks for your encouraging comments. I wanted to help you realise that you are part of a bigger system. Some things you can take responsibility to change - like your knowledge and practice, but other things may require others to change. However, if you see where you fit in the whole, it's easier to focus on what you can do, and where you can try to...
