Responding to the current crisis of increased waiting times and cancelled operations within the NHS in England, Professor Michael Lavelle-Jones, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh stated:
“The current winter crisis, with hospitals being asked to cancel all routine operations until the end of January, is symptomatic of the sustained pressures being placed across the whole of the NHS.
“Whilst we are sympathetic to temporarily delaying elective surgery to enable emergency patients to receive treatment, we are acutely aware what was once a winter crisis is now an all year round problem.
“NHS staff will continue to go above and beyond to uphold patient care and safety during this difficult period but more must urgently be done to address the NHS’s lack of capacity and resilience in the face of increased an complex demands.
“Therefore we strongly believe that a long term review of the NHS needs to be conducted to ensure the health service can properly manage the increased demands and pressures it faces.”
RCSEd (www.rcsed.ac.uk) was first incorporated as the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1505, and is the oldest surgical corporation in the world with memberships approaching 25,000 professionals in over 100 countries worldwide. The College promotes the highest standards of surgical and dental practice through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical and dental workforce. It is also home to the UK’s only Faculty of Surgical Trainers, open to all those with an interest in surgical training regardless of College affiliation. Find RCSEd on Twitter www.twitter.com/RCSEd and on Facebook www.facebook.com/rcsed
The College is based at Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW and can be reached on (0)131 527 1600 or mail@rcsed.ac.uk. In March 2014, a new base opened in Birmingham, catering to the 80% of the College’s UK membership who are based in England and Wales.
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