Dr Sara Kayat

Dr Sara Kayat Dr Sara Kayat is a practising NHS GP at Gray’s Inn Medical Practice. She also carries out private consultations at 90 Sloane Street and at 60 Harley Street.

PLEASE BE AWARE, NO MEDICAL ADVICE CAN BE GIVEN OVER SOCIAL MEDIA.

18/06/2026

This is the kind of health news that needs all the attention.

A generation ago, cervical cancer was a disease that affected thousands of women every year. Today, we’re seeing the real-world impact of prevention.

The HPV vaccine was introduced in England in 2008. This week, researchers reported that for girls vaccinated at age 12-13, the risk of dying from cervical cancer before age 30 is now almost zero. Hundreds of lives have already been saved.

A reminder that some of the most powerful advances in medicine aren’t flashy. They’re the quiet interventions that prevent suffering before it starts.

And yes, if you’re eligible for cervical screening, please still attend your smear test. Vaccination and screening work best together. ❤️

26/05/2026

Jumping on this remix 🤣

21/05/2026

‘Normal’ isn’t always optimal.

NICE guidance considers ferritin below 30 µg/L as iron deficiency, yet many lab reference ranges still label levels as low as ~15 µg/L as ‘normal’.

That gap matters, especially for symptoms like fatigue, hair shedding, and low energy.

If you’ve been told your bloods are fine but you still don’t feel fine, it’s worth looking a bit deeper than the reference range.

15/05/2026

This week I was giving a talk about gut health and was asked to come up with a recipe to share with the attendees. So I spent a lot of last month road testing brownie recipes.

It has courgette in it. And black beans. And sweet potato. And 23 other plants.

(Nearly) Thirty plants. One brownie. Fudgy, chocolatey, actually delicious. Your gut microbiome is going to be completely overwhelmed in the best possible way, because but your gut bacteria love diversity.

I always say try to hit 30 different plants a week for a healthy gut. I just thought... why not do it in a single bake.

Full recipe is on my blog, link is in my bio. Give it a try this week. And don’t tell anyone about the courgette until after 😉
And FYI even my kids eat these gladly!

07/05/2026

🫐 Can blueberries boost exam performance?

Sort of… but they’re not magic.

There is some evidence that blueberries may support memory and concentration thanks to compounds called flavonoids, so they’re a great healthy snack during revision season.

BUT the biggest difference comes from the basics:😴 Sleep💧 Hydration🍽️ Regular balanced meals📚 Proper revision techniques

No superfood can undo all-night cramming and energy drinks.

So yes, serve the blueberries. Just don’t expect a fruit-based GCSE miracle. 😂

TeenHealth BrainFood StudyTips HealthyHabits

14/04/2026

🚨 GP referrals are changing…and not necessarily for the better.

There’s a system called Advice & Guidance (A&G) being rolled out more widely across England.

In simple terms:
Instead of referring you directly to a specialist, your GP is often now expected to ask for “advice” first.

The specialist then replies with:
📋 Try this
🧪 Do these tests
…or sometimes
🏥 Yes, refer

But…

Most GPs aren’t referring lightly.By the time we decide you need a specialist, we’ve usually already assessed, treated, and worked through the obvious steps.

So being asked to “check first” can feel like:
⚠️ An extra hoop
⚠️ A delay to care
⚠️ A system that doesn’t fully trust clinical judgement

That said, there is another side.

If specialists genuinely respond within ~5 days (as promised),
✅ Some patients may get faster answers
✅ Some may avoid hospital altogether
✅ It might ease pressure on overwhelmed clinics

But it only works if it’s quick, clear, and doesn’t block necessary referrals.

The goal hasn’t changed:
👉 getting you the right care, at the right time. But the system around it is shifting, and we’re all feeling that.

17/03/2026

🚨 Meningitis cases in university students have hit the news this week and understandably, a lot of parents (and students) are feeling anxious.

Here’s the reality:
This is serious, but still rare. The risk to any one individual remains low, but meningococcal disease can become very severe very quickly, which is why awareness matters so much.

The key things to focus on:

✔️ Check vaccines – especially MenACWY (free up to age 25)
✔️ Know that many students won’t have had the MenB vaccine (it wasn’t routine before 2015)
✔️ Consider MenB privately if you want that extra layer of protection
✔️ Most importantly: know the symptoms and act fast

⏰ This is one of those conditions where not waiting it out can save a life

For students: trust your instincts, if you feel seriously unwell, seek help
For parents: have the conversation now (even if they roll their eyes 🙃)

💬 If you’re unsure, 111 can advise and if someone is very unwell, call 999

Save this, share it, and send it to anyone with a child at uni ❤️

10/03/2026

GP appointments are short, too short a lot of the time, but the care doesn’t stop when you leave the room.

A lot of the work happens afterwards….documenting carefully, organising tests, writing referrals, and making sure nothing important is missed.

Behind every 10-minute GP appointment is another 5–10 minutes of work. It’s one of the reasons general practice days are so full behind the scenes. Not complaining, I love my job, just sharing what GP land looks like.

26/02/2026

If you have a child under 5, you probably feel like you live in a permanent state of low-grade infection.

Runny nose.
Cough.
Recovered.
Repeat.

In clinic, one of the most common worries I hear is:
“Surely this isn’t normal?”

In most cases, it is.

Young children can have 8–12 viral infections a year. More if they’re in nursery. More if they have siblings. Their immune system is learning by exposure. It’s inefficient at first. That doesn’t mean it’s broken.

The question I care about most isn’t how often they’re ill.

It’s what they’re like in between.

Are they:
– Playing on their good days?
– Growing?
– Regaining energy after illness?

A child who is thriving between infections is usually just having a very normal (very inconvenient) early childhood.

Of course, if they’re not growing, seem persistently unwell between illnesses, or something doesn’t feel right, come back. You are never wasting our time by asking.

But most of the time?
It’s not a hidden immune problem.
It’s not something you caused.
It’s just the immune system doing its slightly chaotic apprenticeship.

11/02/2026

Ever feel like your brain has 50 tabs open and they’re all crashing? 🧠💥

We’ve all been there…that moment when stress takes the wheel and things start spiralling. When your thoughts feel out of control, the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique is your “emergency brake.” 🛑
It’s simple, it’s fast, and it works by pulling your brain out of “stress mode” and back into the room.
Save this for the next time you need a 60-second reset. ✨

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