Andrew is a clinical academic, currently undertaking a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Doctoral Research Fellowship. He is a member of the Academy of Primary Care at Hull York Medical School and holds a joint appointment with the University of York's Department of Health Sciences, where he is a member of the Mental Health and Addictions Research Group (MHARG).
Andrew qualified in medicine from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2012. He is a practising GP and works two days a week as a Partner at his practice in York. He has a longstanding interest in primary care mental health research and medical education. He undertook an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in General Practice (2014-2018) and began his doctoral research in January 2019.
Depression is very common in primary care, with up to 95% of cases in the UK being managed by GPs. At least half of patients will relapse within one year of treatment after their symptoms have improved. NICE have highlighted relapse prevention as a research priority, in particular recommending that research be undertaken to identify patients at increased risk of relapse and to provide relapse prevention strategies for these individuals.
Andrew is using a large dataset, drawn from randomised controlled trials, to develop a predictive model aimed at identifying patients at risk of relapse following successful treatment of depression. He will then review the effectiveness of relapse prevention interventions in primary care and undertake qualitative work to elucidate patient and clinician perspectives. Finally this information will be used, along with economic modelling techniques, to develop a decision aid to be used in practice by primary care clinicians. The long-term aim is to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for people with depression as well as facilitating more targeted use of NHS resources.
Andrew is involved in the regular clinical training of Hull York Medical School medical students, Foundation doctors and GP Registrars.
The NIHR Fellowship involves collaboration with colleagues from Keele University, University College London, the University of Amsterdam, the NIHR Complex Reviews Support Unit, the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.
Andrew represents local GPs as a member of the North Yorkshire Local Medical Committee.