“One size does not fit all” – GP calls for personalised care for patients with multiple long-term conditions
Patients with multiple long-term conditions must be put “in the driver’s seat” when making decisions about their treatment, a cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) specialist told delegates at CVRM Professional Care 2026 today (October 21).
Dr Xenophon Kassianides, a General Practitioner with an Extended Role in CVRM Medicine at The Ridings Medical Group and NHS Humber Health Partnership, stressed that personalised care was central to managing patients with complex and overlapping health conditions.
Speaking during his session, Complex Cases in Multiple Long-Term Conditions, Dr Kassianides highlighted the importance of moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach and ensuring patients played an active role in decisions about their treatment.
He said: “The big thing that I think CVRM is about today is personalised care,” adding that “one size does not fit all”.
The presentation explored three patient cases involving people at different stages of their long-term conditions, examining how clinicians could balance competing treatment priorities while keeping patients at the centre of decision-making.
Dr Kassianides explained that a key consideration was identifying which clinical decisions required urgent action and which could be delayed until later in a patient’s treatment journey.
He emphasised the need to address “issues of priority” while ensuring clinicians put patients “in the prime position, in the driver’s seat really, when it comes to decisions”.
The session also focused on providing practical take-home messages for healthcare professionals managing patients with multiple conditions during a single consultation.
These included recognising the urgency of particular interventions, understanding when treatment decisions could be postponed and incorporating patients’ individual circumstances and preferences into their ongoing management.
Dr Kassianides has a particular clinical and research interest in integrated care and prevention across cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions.
Alongside his clinical work, he is a Council Member and First5 GP Representative of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS), where he leads the society’s podcast initiative, providing educational discussions on cardiovascular topics for healthcare professionals.
He has also contributed to national clinical research, including the NIHR-adopted ExplorIRON-CKD randomised controlled trial, for which he served as Principal Investigator, and the COVID-19 RECOVERY trial.
An Honorary Lecturer at Hull York Medical School, Dr Kassianides remains actively involved in medical education and research.