Policy and Public Affairs
RCSEd actively engages with our Members and Fellows to understand their priorities and shape RCSEd policy positions. We collaborate with a broad spectrum of policymakers and stakeholders across the UK, including the governments of the UK, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, Parliamentarians, NHSE, Statutory Educational Bodies, medical and healthcare regulators, other Royal Colleges, and medical bodies. This extensive engagement helps us raise the College’s visibility and influence while advocating on key issues important to surgeons, dental surgeons, and perioperative staff at all career stages.
We prioritise the welfare of our Members and Fellows, promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within surgery and dentistry, addressing the backlog of surgical cases, and protecting the training pipeline. These efforts have led to several notable RCSEd campaigns, such as #letsremoveit, which was nominated for HSJ and BMJ awards. Additionally, we have formed productive collaborations with other healthcare organisations on workforce planning and successfully lobbied government departments and Ministers.
Policy Engagement
The Policy and Public Affairs team liaise closely with our membership to inform RCSEd’s policy positions.
We consult with several groups within the College including but not limited to:
- RCSEd’s Trainees' Committee
- Younger Fellows’ Network
- Regional Ambassador Network
Contact Details
Engaging our membership is vital to inform our policy work. If you would like to discuss our policy and public affairs work further please contact Chris Sanderson at c.sanderson@rcsed.ac.uk
