SCA practice case · Video consultation
“Headaches, long sleeves”
Video consultation
Adult patient
Hard
Health disadvantage & vulnerabilitiesGender, reproductive & sexual health
The candidate brief
This is what you would read in the 3-minute window before the patient connects. Read it once, note two or three hypotheses and one thing you must not miss, then stop.
Patient
Kayleigh Morton · 31 years · female
Setting
Video consultation — booked for "tiredness and headaches".
Past history
- Nil significant
- A&E 4 months ago: facial bruising (“door frame”)
Medication
- No regular medication
Allergies
NKDA
Recent notes
⚠ 3 appointments booked and cancelled this year. Incomplete online midwife self-referral 3 weeks ago (positive pharmacy pregnancy test).
Reason for contact
Video appointment: “tiredness and headaches”.
Practise this case
The full case is in the Hot Seat with the Gold plan. You get a 12-minute timer, a role-player script with facts released only when asked, examiner checkpoints by the three RCGP domains, a model consultation and the guidance behind it.
What this case tests
Show the learning points (spoiler: read after you have practised)
Strangulation ("held by the throat"), escalation, and pregnancy form the highest-risk cluster in domestic abuse — recognise it by name. The consultation’s job is not rescue: it is safety-to-talk protocols on video, believing without sirens, risk-marker assessment, and a route to help the patient controls — with one honest limit stated up front (an unborn child engages safeguarding via the midwife, told to her, never behind her). Document securely; never send anything home. 0808 2000 247; 999 then 55 for silent calls.
The guidance behind it
Similar SCA cases
gpreasoning.uk is not affiliated with or endorsed by the RCGP. Our cases are original teaching material written for practice; none is an exam recall. For anything official about the SCA, check the RCGP SCA pages.