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Sonya Bushell

@sonyabushell.bsky.social
73 followers 185 following 31 posts

Resident doctor. Passionate about generalism, early palliative care, shared decision-making and advance care planning. Pursuing a clinical academic career - GPST1.

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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I was honoured to receive the Junior Investigator Research Prize last year. I used the prize money to travel to EAPC Congress 2026 and you can read my reflections here: sapc.ac.uk/blog/2026/sa... @eapcvzw.bsky.social @sapc.ac.uk @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social @samurray3.bsky.social
sapc.ac.uk
SAPC ASM 2025 Junior Investigator Research prize winner blog | Society for Academic Primary Care
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Dr Dwight Turner @dturner300.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
As always when it's my birthday, I like to offer you all something, a few words, to say thanks for all the kindness and care over the years. My best to you all. D x 🙏🏿 #SundayThoughts #birthdayvibes
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Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Social determinants of health are associated with end-of-life decision making recorded in EPaCCS. This matters because understanding how social determinants shape recorded decisions is essential to ensure equitable, person-centred end-of-life care. Great work @sophielaw-clucas.bsky.social #EAPC2026
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
My poster up at #EAPC2026 today!
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Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
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Sarah M @sarah-owl.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
On the same theme, if you want to see your patient in 3months but know it will be at least 6months before they get the appointment, be honest and tell them that, so they know that if things are rubbish they shouldn’t just wait another week or two for that appointment
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Cyn‧₊✧˚ @cynnamonroll.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
The libby app is truly one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I implore EVERY one to get a library card and get the app! So many books at your fingertips!!
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Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
“Socio-economic inequalities shape end-of-life outcomes in advanced lung disease. People in the most deprived areas are more likely to die in hospital. This is seen across the social gradient but is most influenced by cause of death.” Great work by @donnawakefield.bsky.social at #EAPC2026
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Delighted to be at #EAPC2026 in Prague today! Fantastic to hear from Prof Scot Murray and so many other wonderful presenters. I have a poster presentation tomorrow - come say hi if you're around! @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social @eapcvzw.bsky.social
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Dr Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
What a breath of fresh air! Bravo @clarefuller.bsky.social @sonyabushell.bsky.social Here's the helpful 'all parts of life' diagram discussed in this conversation. ACP as a life conversation instead of a death conversation. What a difference that would make.
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Zoe Harris FRSA @zoeharrismcm.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Great conversation and I so agree about the need for earlier planning. I encourage people to 'plan for the future' and avoid 'advance care planning' because it is so closely aligned to end-of-life. Do have a look at the My Future Care Handbook, now on its 4th edition: myfuturecare.org
myfuturecare.org
My Future Care - Mycarematters 2020 CIC
My Future Care Handbook, 4th edition Interactive workbook with the information and forms you need to help you plan your later life. Over 70 A4 pages packed with information in order to make, record an...
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Hopefully of interest - @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social @drlindadykes.bsky.social @lucypgeridoc.bsky.social
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Wonderful to share my research about earlier advance care planning in this podcast - speakforme.co.uk/podcast-epis... Thanks for the conversation @clarefuller.bsky.social
speakforme.co.uk
Podcast Episode 161 — Speak For Me LPA
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Clare Fuller @clarefuller.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Could we start planning ahead earlier? This question is asked by @sonyabushell.bsky.social Listen to ✔️learn about Sonya’s research ✔️shift from a medical to a societal model ✔️identify opportunities 🎧 speakforme.co.uk/podcast-epis... @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social #AdvanceCarePlanning
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Dr Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Oh, how frustrating! You're right, that link is lost. Try this one... northerncanceralliance.nhs.uk/deciding-rig...
northerncanceralliance.nhs.uk
Deciding Right - Northern Cancer Alliance
A North-East initiative for making care decisions in advance. Looking for Deciding right resources? All resources can be found here. All care decisions must come from a shared partnership between the ...
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Trisha Elliott @trishaelliott.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
So many truths in this blog. Have a read. Here’s the link again: scottishcare.org/news/social-... One for #MedSky and #PublicHealthSky folks too. #PublicHealth #Prevention
scottishcare.org
Social Care as Prevention: the quiet revolution hiding in plain sight - Scottish Care
There is a habit in Scotland, born of compassion, yes, but also of institutional muscle-memory, to treat social care as what happens after life has gone wrong. We reach for […]
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Trisha Elliott @trishaelliott.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Making care completely transactional misses so many opportunities to improve not only people’s lives, but also to avoid their unnecessary decline and suffering. #MedSky #SocialCare
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Royal College of Emergency Medicine @rcem.ac.uk · 26/03/2026
Winter might be over, but the A&E crisis isn't. According to NHS England, 93.6% of beds in hospitals are occupied. A safe occupancy level would be 85%. When wards are full, EDs become overcrowded. We call on the government to tackle this problem – which is hurting patients.
A statement from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which says: "More than 93% of hospital beds in England are occupied by patients".
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Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
This is utterly jaw-dropping. A school that bans Atwood, Zadie Smith, Terry effing Pratchett and *literal George Orwell* is actively harming its pupils. www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...
indexoncensorship.org
School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship
A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women
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Emma Vardy @emmavardy2.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
However good palliative care must be available to everyone. And advance decision making to avoid unnecessary hospital transfers is vital. And listening and respecting concerns of patients and families. Too often these are absent.
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Alasdair MacLullich @amaclullich.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
"The ICU nurses played recordings of my voice for my dad. My actual voice. Telling him who I was, where he was, that we loved him. They said it calmed him when nothing else worked." - Daughter #delirium
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Trisha Elliott @trishaelliott.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
On Mothers Day, I often think about all the trainees, young doctors and medical & nursing students that I’ve known over the years. I’m not their biological mother, but that doesn’t stop me from being very proud of what they’ve achieved. Supporting the next generation is about much more than genes.
media.tenor.com
a woman in a yellow jacket with the words you guys are amazing
ALT: a woman in a yellow jacket with the words you guys are amazing
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woollyword.bsky.social @woollyword.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
'Dr Higginson added: “This is what happens when hospitals are being encouraged to chase targets for the sake of optics, rather than clinical care. The messaging from the centre has been all about concentrating on the least sick patients, whilst the sickest continue to wait for beds. '
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Anish K Patel @anishkpatel.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
His name appears on the triage list again. A feeling of failing this man on some level comes over me. The contracts push me in a direction that goes against the family GP I want to be. There is no tick box for continuity of care. 1/n
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shibs @drshibley.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
My personal blogpost about the Baroness Casey's talk this week at the Nuffield Trust on her commission of adult social care. www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-agre...
linkedin.com
I agree. A much needed renewal and reckoning is needed over frailty and dementia care.
In her speech this week (5 March) at the Nuffield Trust Summit, Baroness Casey said social care has never had its own “creation moment” and called for a national reckoning equivalent to Beveridge’s re...
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Dr Farbod @emergencybod.medsky.social · 26/02/2026
I’ve written something that’s been sitting heavily with me. “If even a fraction of people choose death because they feel expensive, inconvenient, or unloved, that is not autonomy. That is abandonment dressed as choice.” open.substack.com/pub/drfarbod...
open.substack.com
The Quiet Grief Beneath the Assisted Dying Debate
Something in me is grieving.
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
I volunteered in Dunkirk providing healthcare to people living in tents who were frequently evicted and faced death at sea. So sad to know that people are still experiencing such difficulties. Don't know what the solution is but current situation is inhumane www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘One in, one out’: what has happened to asylum seekers forced to return to France?
In rare interviews, some of those sent back across the Channel after arriving in the UK on small boats describe what happened next – and the risks of a system organised to get rid of them
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Clare Fuller @clarefuller.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
🚨New podcast alert CPR: when does it save a life & when does it spoil a death? Listen in to hear Dani & I share commonly held myths & misconceptions & share valuable resource. 🎧https://speakforme.co.uk/podcast-episode-153 @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social #DNACPR #AdvanceCarePlanning #PEoLC #EoLC
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Sarah M @sarah-owl.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
44% of elderly HIU were on palliative care registers. We know that these are likely to miss many of those with non-malignant conditions, so probably a higher proportion with palliative care needs. Community palliative care and hospice care need more investment to keep people out of acute hospitals
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Thank you for sharing. It's sad that systems see hospital (with all that that entails) as the 'safest' option for people with dementia. Advance care planning has the potential to reduce distress and I hope we can continue to improve how it is done. Wishing you and your dad all the best
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Shaun Lintern @shaunlintern.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Regardless of the outcome on #AssistedDying we need good quality #palliativecare in the UK. It affects many more people than the AD bill ever will. @mariecurieuk.bsky.social new research is sobering and a call to action 👇
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Kit Byatt @kitb.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Palantir—the company awarded the '£330m contract to create a new data management system called the Federated Data Platform (FDP) that aims to provide "joined up" NHS services'
bmj.com
NHS England must cancel its contract with Palantir
In November 2023, NHS England awarded Palantir a £330m contract to create a new data management system called the Federated Data Platform (FDP) that aims to provide “joined up” NHS services.1 Palantir...
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ClaireClarkSLT @claireclarkslt.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Exciting!! #Dysphagia
bradford.ac.uk
University of Bradford to lead £2.4m national trial to rethink swallowing care - 2026 - News - University of Bradford
The University of Bradford has been awarded £2.4 million from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to lead a landmark clinical trial that could reshape care for people with swall...
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Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Delighted to see our research on #AdvanceCarePlanning bjgp.org/content/76/7... published and featured in @bjgp.bsky.social editorial. bjgp.org/content/76/7... It suggests that ACP could be discussed earlier with people before onset of advanced illness or severe frailty. @sonyabushell.bsky.social
bjgp.org
Attitudes to earlier advance care planning: a qualitative interview study in general practice
Background Advance care planning (ACP) research has often focused on those experiencing deteriorating health. There is limited research regarding attitudes to early ACP among people living with long-t...
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Anna Mazzola @annamazz.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
The finale of the Night Manager certainly gave us the cheery boost we all needed right now.
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
The balls on this show to end on that note. Ok, I'll stop. But it's utterly perfect for the moment as well as just great storytelling.
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Prof Nisreen Alwan @nisreenalwan.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
How to change the world from your little place in it? *** Speak about your passions a little. Do what you’re scared of a little. Challenge your tribe a little. Pause before you react a little. Believe that everyone is struggling a little. Spread hope a little. Love yourself at least a little.
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Seeing my research in print is so exciting, and it's featured in the BJGP editorial too! So grateful to all at @wolfsonpallcare.bsky.social
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Sarah M @sarah-owl.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
I’d love this to be normal practice - I’ve always said everyone should have a TEP form in hospital because it normalises these discussions. Early versions where full escalation appropriate, with gradual change to comfort as priority
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Dr Kathryn Mannix @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Absolutely agree. No-one with a LTC should present in a foreseeable crisis without a plan for action. Useful to guide patient & family, carers, first responders, ED etc, & plans made collaboratively respect the patient's values.
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
My research is in here!
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Dr Gordon Caldwell FRCP Edinburgh @doctorcaldwell.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Any progress in the last 3 years in reducing poorly designed and poorly integrated NHS Hospitals' Clinical IT systems? I still get shivery thinking about the wasteful use of so much Clinicians' time, time when they should be diagnosing & treating patients @vidimo.bsky.social @ihieurope.bsky.social
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Dr Ben Bowers @drbenbowers.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
FREE webinar on out-of-hours end-of-life care 📅 Thursday 5th March 1.00-2.30pm 🖥️ Online via Teams 📊Short talks on the latest research & evidence plus a panel discussion - with me, Kate Heaps, Therese Johansson, Joanna Davies and Alice Firth Sign up: www.tickettailor.com/events/facul...
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The BMJ @bmj.com · 22/01/2026
📢 The BMJ's Medics’ Revue is back 📢 Got a sketch, song, poem, or skit about medicine? Submit your entry by 28 February 2026. Email jburrell@bmj.com with your script, recording, or idea. 🎭 🎤🕺Perform in London’s West End on 15 May 2026 More details: bit.ly/4pO188H
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Patrick Reid @oldmandoc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Very interesting to see actual evidence for it but I suspect not surprising to a lot of geriatricians. Especially frustrating with bed pressures that you have medically fit patients with dementia/resolving deleroum moved to D/C wards waiting social care Only for that move to trigger a deterioration
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
So exciting to see this research published! It's on a topic I'm so passionate about. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. When we see the person and not the disease we can design person-centred and proactive healthcare - and advance care planning could be part of that.
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Sonya Bushell @sonyabushell.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
The Christmas BMJ hosts a beautiful dictionary for medicine's unnamed moments, curated by @drmattmorgan.bsky.social Stilltone really spoke to me thedictionaryofbloodandsilence.com
Stilltone - the thick, absolute quiet in the room when you certify a death
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Mun-Keat Looi @munkeatlooi.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Of critical importance this year was @elspethdavies.bsky.social look at polarisation in medicines and how we can possibly hope to get back to more understanding in scientific debate. www.bmj.com/content/391/...
bmj.com
Polarisation in medicine: how can we better engage with people who disagree with us?
Silos have formed in a range of debates in medicine. We need to work together to move beyond this polarisation, writes Elspeth Davies ### Biography Elspeth Davies is a senior researcher at the Univ...
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Sunitha Daniel @sunithamd.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Centre contributed to 13.6 % reduction in emergency hospital admissions for people over 80 in Hull and now evidence of improvement in QOL and wellbeing #Frailty
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