The Minor Illness Manual
5th Edition

Dr Gina Johnson graduated from Guy’s Hospital in London in 1979 and worked as a General

Practitioner in Luton from 1983 to 2017. She has always been actively involved in primary care

audit and research, and has published articles on a wide range of topics. She is very aware of the

limitations of Western medicine, which led her to study for an MSc in medical anthropology in

2002. She is a medical acupuncturist and has an interest in holistic care.

Dr Ian Hill-Smith started publishing research papers while studying for his first degree in anatomy,

before graduating in medicine from University College London, in 1980. He is both a member

of the Royal College of Physicians and a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners. He is

fascinated by fundamental science and how it can be applied to medical practice, particularly how

medicines can be prescribed to best effect, which was the subject of his research MD. His previous

local and national roles have led to the development of a primary care prescribing formulary,

reduced medicines wastage and courses on medicines optimisation.

Dr Chirag Bakhai discovered his passion for education while studying medicine at University

College London, where he tutored fellow students in subjects ranging from pharmacology to statistics.

Since then, he has taught and presented on both local and national stages. As well as working

as a General Practitioner, Chirag is a Clinical Director at Luton Clinical Commissioning Group

and a Clinical Advisor for NHS England. He employs his evidence-based approach in improving

healthcare services and is committed to empowering people to self-manage their health conditions.

His teaching experience is extremely helpful in identifying and addressing learning needs across

Primary Care and reducing unwarranted variation in standards of care.