Philip Buttaravoli, Stephen Leffler and R. Ramsay Herrington

ISBN 978-0-323-66203-1

Published by Elsevier (June 2021)

Price £74.54

https://www.uk.elsevierhealth.com/minor-emergencies-9780323662031.html

Put simply, this book is brilliant and covers areas that straddle presentations to Emergency Departments, Urgent Care facilities and Primary Care. Doctors, especially GPs and their clinical staff will find this book incredibly useful and I have not seen many books cover this particular subject area. Even better, this book excels at its subject matter and although covers 186 usually common topics (bear in mind for most people this is what you see in clinical practice-common things are common) and my only criticism is that I wish there was more topics covered, simply because of its excellence.

It is well written and the format is superb, each topic is maybe 2-3 pages and covered in a practical non textbook manner aimed at dealing with a patient presenting to you. It is written in an authoritative way, conveying not only the information in a practical manner but the reader may feel that they are more experienced in that topic area, after reading the relevant section. It is like having an experienced and knowledgeable mentor hovering over your shoulder muttering good evidence based advice into your ear whilst you are evaluating a patient.

As I have said, this is not a textbook but a book of practical advice when dealing with minor emergencies which can be a massive topic. I liked the lay out with many topics covered under the topic of “presentation” then “what to do” and “what not to do” then discussion. Apart from being easy to read, each section is packed with practical assistance. Even better, I tried it out on a number of subjects and I felt much more confident in dealing with that topic, after reading the relevant section. If you so wish, there is suggest readings for further information if needed but I never found the need to do this.

Although you would think minor emergencies would cover trauma and other musculoskeletal issues (which it does) but there is a whole collection of other topics and specialties covered. These include neurology and psychiatry, eye and ENT problems as well as skin problems. I was surprised how many topics come under the auspices of minor emergency. For example, epididymitis, bursitis and pediculosis were covered in this excellent format.

Included within the price is a digital edition and it is easy to access and adds to the quality and usefulness of the book. As well as the electronic version of the book on available via a web browser, there are some instructional videos which are also listed at the beginning of the book.

All in all, this is an excellent book and comes highly recommended. It is easy to read and full of practical and supportive information. Well worth the purchase price.

Dr Harry Brown

August 2021