#24: Changing lives through lifestyle medicine with Dr Simon Tobin

Dr. Simon Tobin is an NHS General Practitioner, GP partner, and trainer with a focus on lifestyle medicine, diabetes, and the role of exercise on improved health outcomes. Dr. Tobin has worked in his current role at Norwood Surgery in Southport, Merseyside for 25 years, where he also serves as the Diabetes Lead. Additionally, he works with Parkrun as an Ambassador for Health and Wellbeing. Through his work, Dr. Tobin aims to incorporate lifestyle medicine into treatment plans in an effort to mitigate the degree of overdiagnosis and overprescription of medication within the healthcare system.

 

Dr. Tobin joins me today to discuss his passion for lifestyle medicine and how it is having life-changing effects on patients within his practice. He shares the groundbreaking approaches his team has taken to treating individuals living with diabetes and the transformative impact of utilizing these methods. He also shares the struggles and strengths of his practice and the importance of prioritizing professional relationships on a daily basis in order to run your general practice more effectively.

 

“Fairness and equity of workload is the key to good relationships.” - Dr. Simon Tobin

 

This week on The Business of Healthcare:

 

• What lifestyle medicine is and how it can contribute to an individual’s health
• How patients typically respond when GPs offer lifestyle medicine as a solution
• Tobin’s involvement with Parkrun and the impact it has had on his patients
• Why the success Dr. Tobin has witnessed with Parkrun is difficult to measure
• Why more and more GPs are stepping away from partnerships
• Behind-the-scenes insights into running a general practice
• The importance of fairness, building supportive working relationships with your general practice partners, and how to find the time to strengthen these partnership relationships
• The process of how the GP partnership relationship grows over time
• A significant challenge that Dr. Tobin is currently facing in his practice
• Reasons behind the shortage of GPs and the impact this is having on practices
• Insights on areas for improvement within general practices
• The importance of employing a mindset of continual professional growth and development
• The “cornerstone” daily routine that Dr. Tobin and his partners have in place
• Specific impacts that Dr. Tobin’s practice is having on patients with diabetes
• What is currently going well for Dr. Tobin’s practice and where he wants to be in five years

 

Connect with Dr. Simon Tobin:

 

• Norwood Surgery Southport
• Simon Tobin on Twitter
• Email: simon.tobin@ic24.net

 

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