Approximately one in five people in the UK suffer from acute cough over the winter season. This makes it one of the most common reasons to visit a GP in the colder months, and subsequently costs the NHS around two billion pounds per year.

Patients emphasised the profound disability experienced that was often associated with fear and vulnerability, highlighting how this was often not recognised by health care professionals.

GARFIELD-AF

The relationship between outcomes and time after diagnosis for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is poorly defined, especially beyond the first year.

Complaints of breathlessness and wheeze are common reasons why patients consult their GP, and may simply be a short-term and minor problem, or could be an early sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, or ischaemic heart disease (IHD). The similarity of symptoms related to these conditions may make their diagnosis at initial presentation difficult, and often requires a number of tests.

Smoking remains the leading cause of ill health and mortality, at an estimated cost to the NHS of about £6 billion. Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) in England offer intensive advice and support to smokers motivated to quit, and smokers attending have a higher chance of succeeding in a quit attempt than if they attempted to quit alone. However the proportion of smokers using the SSS has been less than 5%, and the number is falling each year. In the Start2quit trial we developed an intervention to persuade and motivate more smokers to seek, or accept, help to quit.